All I ever wanted
by All about Klaroline
Summary: Klaus Mikaelson is a famous movie star, when the media frenzy surrounding him becomes to much and the paparazzi are having the time of their lives making his life a living hell, Klaus goes into hiding and his whole life changes forever when he meets the beautiful Caroline Forbes.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, Im new to this site and new to writing so please go easy on me, this is my first Klaroline fic and its all human. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Ive wrote a few chapters so far so if you're interested in reading more let me know with a follow or a review... I'd appreciate it immensely...**

 **Thanks. Sarah.**

Its been a very long time since Caroline has heard the voice coming from the phone, shes confused as to how she even got her number. Alot of time has passed since high school so its kind of a shock to hear her former best friend asking, begging for a favour.

Elena sounds the same, she has the same droney, miserable tone that Caroline tries desperately to block out. Shes seen pictures of the brunette living the fabulous hot shot life style she leads, posted all over her facebook and twitter accounts so Caroline knows she looks the same too...

But shes not the same person.

Shes not the girl who consoled Caroline in ninth grade when Tyler Lockwood completely humiliated her in the school lunch room by breaking up with her. Shes not the same girl who she instantly became best friends with and shared all her deepest darkest secrets with and shes not the same girl she loved like a sister.

Elena Gilbert had broken her more than Caroline ever thought possible. She packed her bags and up and left to LA when Caroline had needed her the most. Which makes it even more amusing that shes calling her seven years later... for a favour.

"Please Caroline, you know I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate" Elena says breaking Caroline from her thoughts. Shes in shock if shes being completely honest. The audacity of the woman is totally entertaining and it gives Caroline satisfaction knowing her mothers words were true.

 _Elena will need you long before you need her._

She clears her throat, preparing to give Elena some harsh truths before slamming the phone down but Elena speaks again before Caroline gets the chance "Care?" Elena asks and Caroline realises shes been silent for quite a while.

That must be a first.

Elena lets out a heavy sigh "Look Care, I know I have absolutely no right to ask anything of you especially after all this time but this problem, I need someone that I can trust, someone who wouldnt be fazed and honestly you were the first person I thought of"

Carolines lips turn up into a small smile. Its nice knowing Elena trusts her, even if they haven't spoken for years. "I still remember when Kai Parker came to school for a semester, you were the only one that didn't treat him like a king"

Caroline laughs at that. Kai had been a child star, growing up in the spot light. He went to Mystic Falls High, apparently claiming he wanted to be 'normal'. The girls at school had drooled all over him, trying to impress him, Hayley Marshall being the worst culprit, practically throwing herself at the poor boy every chance she got. The guys at school all tried to get into his good graces, hoping that having Kai as a friend would up their status but Caroline didn't care either way. To her he was just another person.

A bit more wealthy than the norm but a person none the less.

"Care, please?"

Caroline huffs because she knows her answer already, shes Caroline Forbes, shes unable to say no. Even if it is to her traitorous ex best friend. "What do you need?" She asks.

"I have a client, hes pretty well known, theres a huge story been leaked about him and the media is crazy around here" Elena says. Already Caroline regrets asking but she'll let Elena continue anyway. "I need a place for him to stay, somewhere no one will be able to find him and with someone I know won't sell us out"

"How can you be so sure I won't?" Caroline asks slightly insulted. After what Elena did, she deserves everything she gets. "What if I did?"

"You won't"

"How do you know?"

"Because you're Caroline" Elena says simply and Caroline conceeds. She has a point. Caroline is alot of things but she would never stoop so low as to get revenge for something as stupid as abandonment. It had hurt more at the time, knowing Elena had left when Caroline was at her lowest point, but thinking back now, Elena was just doing what she had always planned to do.

After a few seconds of silence the blonde talks up. "When?"

"Is tomorrow too early?"

"As long as whoever it is doesnt get in my way, I have work to do around here, if they lay low and don't cause any trouble then tomorrow is fine" Caroline answers. "Who is it anyway? Anyone ive heard of?"

"Klaus Mikaelson"

Carolines eyebrows raise. Shes impressed. She knew Elena was a hot shot publicist but she had hoped, quite chilishly that Elena wasnt doing so good in the work department. Its petty, she knows but she doesn't care. Klaus Mikaelson is a high profile actor, hes constantly in the media and running up magazine columns so its baffling to Caroline what can be so bad that he has to hide. "How long?"

"A month, maybe two. Depends how long this whole thing takes to blow over, you know how the media can be" Caroline chuckles because Elena is so far off the mark. Caroline has never nor will she ever know what its like being stalked by big guys with cameras.

"Wait a minute, isn't he married? What about his wife?" Caroline asks. Tatia Petrova is a victoria secret model and together with Klaus, they're one of the most well known couples in Hollywood. Anyone that lives in the real world knows you don't get one without the other.

"I'll answer any and all questions tomorrow, is that okay?"

"Yeah sure"

"Okay well Damon and I will bring him to you. I'll call the airlines now and I'll text you the details"

Caroline rolls her eyes, Damon and Elena, joined at the hip, theyre together, theyre seperated, theyre back together again. Honestly Caroline cant keep up.

"Okay" Caroline replies because she doesn't know what else to say. Shes sure nothing else will come out of her mouth right now.

Shes still in shock. Stefan will have a field day with this tid bit of information.

"Um... Thanks Caroline. I really appreciate your help" Elena adds sounding a little embarassed. It must be killing her to ask for help, let alone from Caroline.

"Yeah, whatever" She attempts to sound casual but doesn't do a very good job. "I'll see you tomorrow then" The thought unsettles Caroline. Shes doing incredibly well for herself but her competitive side comes out, it always had around Elena.

Elena always got the guy, she always had the perfect family life, she was pretty and popular and now she had her dream job.

But Caroline loves her life. She has an amazing job, in the city she loves and had the two best friends anyone could only dream of.

"Yeah, tomorrow. I'll text you soon"

"Elena?" Caroline prompts before Elena can hang up "How did you even get my number?"

"My mom" Elena answers "She said you did some catering for the Miss Mystic pageant a couple of months ago, I didnt know you still went back there"

Caroline wants to burst out that not everyone is the same and some people actually do go back and visit the small town they grow up in, no matter how successful they get but she refrains, deciding to keep the peace. "I'll see you tomorrow Elena" Caroline hangs up without waiting for a reply.

Caroline slumps down into the nearest chair, her minds racing a mile a minute, shes mentally preparing her to do list before Elena and Klaus Mikaelson arrive. Some stress cleaning and baking are definitely near the top of the list but first things first.

She needs to call Stefan.

She quickly scrolls through her contacts and clicks the little green icon. After a few rings, Stefan answers "Hi Care, whats up?"

"You'll never guess who just called me"

* * *

Its just after five in the evening, Carolines just closing up the little pastry store she owns with her best friend Bonnie when Elena texts her, they're on there way and Carolines kind of freaking out.

Put Caroline in a room full of celebrities and movie stars and shes fine but when it comes to seing Elena in all of her perfection and success, its terrifying.

She looks up at Stefan and Bonnie and shes anxious. She wants them to stay. A little moral support would be good right about now. She told Stefan most of her conversation with Elena the night before and he refuses to stay for an awkward encounter with his long lost brother so Carolines pissed but she understands. Bonnie doesnt know a thing. Stefans been like a brother to her sice high school and the pair met Bonnie not long after moving to Chicago. Both girls instantly bonded over their love of baked goods and a drunken night had resulted in the decision to become partners in the business Bonnie had inherited from her granmother two months earlier.

It was a small space, formally used as a wicca supply store. Since the death of Bonnies grams, it had been unused, an old neglected building gathering dust until the girls decided to turn it into their very own dream come true.

And alas Sheila's place had been given a complete makeover. They replaced the floors and the paper on the walls. Every table and chair had been reupholstered with new brightly coloured fabric and some display cabinets had been ordered and placed accordingly. The whole place had been transformed but after months of choosing and arguing over names for the place, Stefan suggested they keep it as it was.

The mid sized two bedroom apartment above the shop was perfect for Caroline, and she moved out of the apartment she was sharing with Stefan and started up on her own. She highly doubted it would compare to Elenas house but Caroline loved it.

The blonde smiles at Stefan and gives him a small nod indicating the text Elena had sent and Stefan returns the gesture as he picks up his coat. "How about I walk you home Bon?" He suggests hoping to get her out of there.

"Thanks Stefan but I'm meeting Enzo for a couple of drinks when he finishes work" Bonnie replies with a smile as she slips her own jacket over her arms.

"Well I could walk you there, wherever there is" Stefan laughs helping her into her jacket.

Caroline makes her way around the counter and locks up the cash register before grabbing some papers from under the counter. "I hope this isn't you getting your flirt on again Stef, you know I love you, but not like that" Bonnie teases him.

"Haha" He deadpans "you're hilarious, just being a gentleman as always"

Caroline cant help the laugh that escapes her. Shes known Stefan long enough to know he is anything but a gentleman. She'll admit he has his charms about him and to anyone else he would be the perfect boyfriend but Caroline had to endure living with him for a year and that was not a pretty experience.

"Something amusing?" He asks turning to Caroline looking genuinely insulted. It just makes Caroline laugh harder.

"Never mind, just go, be a gentleman" Caroline waves him off "Im planning on taking a hot bubble bath, ordering some chinese food and relaxing with Ryan Gosling for the night"

"The Notebook? Again Caroline?" Stefan asks.

"Actually I was thinking Crazy, stupid love. As long as I get to see Mr. Gosling shirtless I'll be happy"

"You really need to get a life, or a boyfriend" Stefan retorts.

"Ha! Says the guy offering to walk Bonnie to her date so he can avoid his stalker ex at home"

"Its creepy, shes everywhere" Stefan shudders and Caroline and Bonnie laugh.

"You should call the police, get a restraining order or something" Bonnie says and Caroline agrees with a nod. As soon as she met Valerie, she knew there was somethig wierd going on with her but for the life of her Caroline couldn't put her finger on what it was. It wasn't until a month into the relationship when Valerie started talkig about wedding plans and baby names that Stefan had totally freaked out and ended things. Five months later and Valerie is still hanging round trying to win Stefan back.

"Na, She'll get the hint eventually" Stefan shrugs and Caroline hopes hes right. "Well, we should get going, I dont think Enzo will wait around all night and Im pretty sure Caroline is going to combust soon if she doesn't get her fix of Ryan" Caroline pokes her tongue out as Bonnie laughs.

"I'll see you tomorrow Care, have a good night" Bonnie says with a smile.

"Yeah, you too. Don't do anything I wouldn't do" Caroline smirks as she watches the pair leave the store through the back entrance.

Caroline takes a breather, letting her eyes scan the store, everythings as it should be and she sighs in relief. She can't be bothered with more work right now. The fact she'll have a house guest for the next month or so was enough to keep her awake all night and now shes exhausted. Shes usually so organised and a day to wrap her head around a stranger living with her was not enough time.

Her phone beeps again and this time Caroline ignores it. Its a notification from twitter, she makes a mental note to check it later before sitting down on one of the stools and opening her book work. She scans the page and reads through the numbers for a few minutes before it all begins to blurr together, her mind unable to focus properly. She closes the file and taps her nails inpatiently on the soft cover.

She must be sitting there for a further ten minutes before she hears voices coming from outside the shop, she looks up and sees three people, all three of them recogniseable.

Elena and Damon are cuddled together, there arms wrapped tightly around the other and Klaus, donning a dark cap that hides his face walks behind them.

Caroline stands and begins to walk toward the double glass doors, pulling her keys from her front pocket. Elenas beaming smile greets her as she unlocks it and she can't help but smile back. As bitter as Caroline is, shes missed the brunette. The realisation suddenly makes her feel more at ease.

She opens the door for her guest and is instantly bombarded with one of Damons quips. "Blondie, quaint place you got here" She cant be bothered to retalliate with a sassy retort of her own so she gives him a pleasant smile and mumbles a quiet thankyou.

"Its good to see you Caroline" Elena says with a genuine smile on her face.

"You too" she replies. Its progress since they've had no contact for the past seven years but she doubts theyll be hugging and sharing sex tips anytime soon.

Its a little awkward for a moment as they move further into the establishment but Caroline soon speaks ups. She never could stand awkward silences. "How was the flight?"

"Since when do you make small talk?" Damon asks inspecting the place "just say what you have to say Barbie, get it off your chest, you must have something to say after all this time"

She does. Theres plenty she wants to say but she refuses to give Damon the satisfaction of riling her up so she shrugs. "Not to you" she replies. Its technically true, everything she wants to say is aimed specifically at Elena. "I'm Caroline by the way" She introduces herself to Klaus as they shake hands.

"Klaus" He replies, taking his cap off. If Carolines not mistaken he sounds pissed.

She notices his deep cherry lips first and the shallow dimples in his cheeks. His hair is dishevelled from his cap and his eyes look tired and fed up. She has to admit hes better looking up close than he is on the big screen. No wonder he managed to bag Tatia.

Caroline moves back slightly, her nerves suddenly making an appearence again. "Well, my place is upstairs, come on up, I'll show you around"

Klaus nods but doesn't reply and Elena begins to follow her up the back staircase, the men following behind her.

"Wheres my baby bro today? I thought he at least might make an effort to see me" Damon complains.

Caroline rolls her eyes "Maybe he thinks effort works both ways Damon, he hasn't heard from you for months" She throws over her shoulder.

"I've been busy"

"Yeah, well so has he, hes out right now with some friends, couldn't miss it. You know Stefan, always so loyal" Caroline says and Damon scoffs. "He told me to tell you to call him though"

"How comforting"

Caroline smiles to herself as she lets them into the apartment.

* * *

Klaus has set his bags into Carolines spare room and they've gathered themselves onto the sofas in the living room. Carolines busied herself in the kitchen, making tea and coffee for her guests.

Shes calmed down slightly, having Klaus in her house and settled in has relieved her nerves somewhat. Shes still uncomfortable with Damon being there but theres not much she can do about that. She lifts the tray of mugs and takes them into the living room, setting it on the mahogany coffee table inbetween the two sofas. Klaus and Elena are talking and Damons fiddling with his phone oblivious to anything around him.

"Thanks Care" Elena smiles as she looks up at the blonde. She takes her coffee and adds a little milk.

"No problemo, so is someone going to fill me in on why this is all happening? Whats with the houdini act?"

Elena sighs and she looks thoroughly tired. "Try asking whats not happening, that would be an easier question to answer" the brunette replies taking a sip of her steaming coffee and tucking her long hair behind her ear.

"Do you read the newspapers? Or watch television? I highly doubt anyone doesnt know whats going on right now" Damon adds still focused on his phone.

Again Caroline ignores him as she turns back to Elena and Klaus waiting for a response. "Some woman, a fan presumably, has made a complaint to the CSA about me, she has a three year old son, shes claiming is mine, but hes not." Klaus says. Caroline feels kind of sorry for him if the look on his face is anything to go by, she thinks hes telling the truth.

"Theres no possible chance?"

Klaus glares at her and she shrugs, regretting her question. Sometimes her brain to mouth filter just failed miserably. "Sorry, just asking" she holds her hands up defensively.

"Shes came up with a story about how she met Klaus in a bar in LA a few year back, had a one night stand and now shes had his child, the media are loving it" Elena frowned "Of course the fact that Klaus and his wife have recently split makes matters worse, I mean we can't exactly release a statement about that, without everyone thinking Tatia has left him because of this other business"

"Did she?"

"Not that it matters or that its any of your business but no she didn't" Klaus snaps angrily.

Caroline shoots him a look "lets get a few things straight, I'm helping you here, You came to me. If you don't want to answer my questions or stay here then you know where the door is" She gestures to the door and she can vaguely hear Damon chuckling from beside her.

"Theres sassy little Caroline, I've been waiting for her to come out and play"

"Shut up Damon" Elena glares at him "Of course he wants to stay here, hes just stressed" Caroline doubts it but she doesn't comment further on the subject.

"So why did they break up?" She aims her question at Elena rather than Klaus, she assumes getting info from Klaus would be like getting blood from a stone at this point.

"Irreconcilable differences" Elena shrugs "I know most of Hollywood say stuff like that but its actually true in this case, they're still friends, but to the world outside they're still madly in love"

"So this whole love child thing is just adding fuel to the fire"

"Exactly"

Caroline shakes her head confused. What woman in the right mind would use their own child to get money, its easy enough to prove surely so why would you bother with all the hassle.

"Its easy enough to prove Klaus isn't this kids dad, I mean a little visit to Maury Povich and a DNA test should do it. Then Klaus will be out of your hair, and back i to the limelight where he belongs" Damon jumps in. "Irs just a matter of keeping the papz at bay until this thing can be sorted."

Caroline nods and for the first time in her life she sees the down side to being famous. The first movie she ever watched with Klaus in it was when she was thirteen, it was some horror movie and Klaus must have been no more than seventeen, over a decade of dealing with crowds of people on a daily basis must have had an effect on him. Caroline struggles dealing with customers too early in the morning, never mind what he has to go through. "I'm sorry" she mumbles, the words coming out without her permission.

Klaus look up at her and there is a hint of a smile on his lips that instantly make her feel better about the whole situation.

Caroline snaps out of it and looks back to Elena "What time is your flight back out?"

"Nine, we should get going soon actually" She slaps Damon on the leg grabbing his attention. "We hired a decoy so the papz think Klaus is in Monnoco with Tatia, Nobody knows hes here"

"And we're trusting you to keep it that way Blondie" Damon adds "Its been a pleasure as always. Try not to kill him"

Caroline gives him a fake smile. "Im sure theres more appropriate and more deserving victims I could find."

Elena steps in before Damon can reply "Thanks again Caroline, I owe you big time"

"Yes, you do" Caroline smirks. "I'll keep him well hidden, don't worry Elena. Just hurry up and sort this out, you know how I get living with people"

"I remember" She smiles. Elena hugs her before she gets the chance to protest but Caroline doesn't pull back. "Its been good seeing you Care. Youve got a good set up here, you look happy"

"I am happy"

"Enough soppy shit, Can we go now?" Damon asks ruining the moment completely.

The girls pull apart and Klaus steps up to both Elena and Damon. "I'll call you tomorrow, maybe you should think about calling your wife? Let her in on your where abouts"

"She doesn't know you're here?"

"She knows Ive gone away for a while, I told her I would call her" Klaus answers.

"That reminds me" Elena says "Do not use your cell phone, its veen hacked already and we are not going through all this trouble to get you here just for people to find out where here is"

"I have a phone you can use" Caroline replies.

"Perfect" Elena responds "If I need to contact you I'll call Caroline"

Klaus and Caroline stand on the thresh hold of the apartment after saying their goodbyes and they watch as Damon and Elena walk down the flight of stairs. She makes a mental note to lock the shop up properly but first she has a tour to give. "Okay then, let me show you around Mr. Mikaelson"

 **Thanks for reading you lovely lot! Also, I'm in desperate need of a beta so if you would like to assist, drop me a PM or follow me on twitter. WorldHasToOffer  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Caroline rolls over in bed for the millionth time that night, shes irritated and annoyed at the loud hog-like snoring coming from the room next door. Shes never been one to complain about snoring or heavy breathing but for some reason, which Caroline assumes is her lack of sleep the night before, shes extremely pissed off.

She pulls a pillow over her head attempting to block the noise out but it doesnt work. She huffs and throws the covers off her, debating wheter she should go in and suffocate him. That would definitely make the head lines. She paces back and forth and the snoring only seems to get louder, it amazes her how so much noise can come from one person. The night had ended quite well too. Klaus and Caroline had ordered chinese food, just as she had planned, they talked for an hour or so about insignificant things before Caroline had forced herself into bed, sure that she would be asleep before her head hit the pillow.

And yet here she was wide awake at two thirty in the morning and desperate for sleep... Or coffee. Coffee sounds like a good plan right about now.

She slips on her pink fluffy slippers Bonnie had bought her last year for her birthday and pads to the kitchen, shes quiet because at least one person sould be able to sleep in this house and shes not that rude to purposely wake him up just for the fun of it.

She flicks on her coffee machine and wipes and her swollen eyes, they're burning and she knows she'll look like a wreck in the morning but she doesn't care, a quick layer of make-up should sort that out. Bonnie will no doubt notice but she can always make up an excuse... she doesn't think "I've got a hot british actor living upstairs with me" will quite cut it, and she can't tell anyone else about Klaus, no matter how much she trusts Bonnie.

She begins softly crooning the lyrics of Mack the knife as she waits for her extra strong beverage and thinks about whipping up some of her famous cookies. She rakes through her cupboards and digs out the ingrediants needed and places them on the small kitchen island.

She takes her drink and sips it, theres no doubt in Carolines mind, its only the first of many that day.

* * *

"What's wrong with you today?" Bonnie asks staring at her with narrowed eyes "You're all skittish and fumbly, What did you do?"

"What? Nothing. I'm just tired, I keep having these wierd dreams, I haven't slept well"

"So this has nothing top do with that gorgeous man in your apartment?" Bonnie smirks. Caroline's mouth drops open, so much for keeping him well hidden. Before she can answer Bonnie continues. "Never got a good look at his face but the back is hot, especially after he dropped the towel"

"He what?" Carolines completely appalled. A little jealous too. She bets it was a nice view.

"Don't worry, he didn't even see me. I opened the door, just for a second and walked straight back out again" She confirms.

What the hell was he doing in her living room naked anyway?

"So, I'm assuming it didn't work out with Ryan? From what I saw, you've upgraded honey" Bonnie wiggles her eyebrows and Caroline has to laugh.

As if she would ever... Hes married, Seperated but still the world doesn't know that and with the whole secret love child scandal going on, even if she wanted to go there, she couldn't.

"Hes just a friend Bon, he needed a place to stay so I offered" She says trying to sound as normal as possible "And its the coffee making me all skittish, I really didn't sleep well" At all actually she adds silently in her head.

"Just friends huh?"

"Yes just friends" Caroline Reassures her friend "And he doesn't want anyone knowing hes here, so don't say anyting to _anyone"_

"And what exactly would I say? Carolines got a hot guy staying in her apartment, I have no idea of his name or what he looks like but he has a nice ass"

Caroline laughs "No, just don't mention it, actually forget it, pretend it didn't happen"

Bonnies giggles at her "You're really keeping this one to yourself aren't you?"

"Bonnie"

"Fine, okay I get it. I didn't see a thing. Whatever."

Caroline knows Bonnie well enough to know that this isn't the last shes heard of the conversation.

* * *

Its late in the afternoon when the shops customers start to discipate, Bonnie and Caroline have been run off their feet all day and Carolines still chugging back the coffee like its water.

Thankfully Bonnie hadn't brought up Klaus again and hes remained in the apartment all day. She wonders idly what he's been up to but doesn't dwell on it. As long as he stays out of her underwear draw, whatever he's doing is fine by her. Stefans called her and asked her and bonnie to some party that night, A work colleague of Stefans but Caroline has refused, shes literally like a character from the walking dead by this point but Bonnies going and shes taking Enzo along. She never would have imagined Enzo and Bonnie together, they seem so completely different yet they fit perfectly together.

Bonnies clearing the tables when Caroline looks up from the large double oven out back, "Hey Bon, why don't you go home early? I can lock up"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, its totally fine. Besides you have a party to get ready for. I'll take the paperwork upstairs with me and get started on it tonight" Caroline replies. It's not like shes got anything more interesting to do.

Bonnie smiles at her as she removes the white small apron from around her waist. "You know, I wish you would come with us, unless of course you've got company again tonight" Shes blaintantly prying for info and Caroline laughs.

"Yes, I've got company but not like _that_ " She states "I told you, It's nothing. He's just staying with me. It's a favour for a friend"

"You don't have friends, except me and Stefan anyway"

"Hey! I totally have friends. A lot of friends. Just because I don't go out all the time doesn't mean I'm sad, loner girl" Caroline protests.

Bonnie rolls her eyes with a smirk "Yeah yeah, Whatever. What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"I haven't really thought about it" She shrugs in response. It's a Thursday which means it's her day off. Bonnie takes Tuesdays and the store is closed on a sunday. "Maybe some shopping. That new boutique down the street just opened so I want to have a look there. Besides that, probably nothing. Relaxing day, read, Bake, hey maybe I could come up with some new recipes"

"You're a workoholic"

"Are you planning to insult me until the very second you leave, because if you are I'll kick you out on your ass right now" Caroline teases. "Go, have a good time at the party and don't you worry about my boring, friendless, workoholic lifestyle"

Bonnie laughs and she throws her damp table cloth at Caroline before walking out of the shops front doors. "See you Friday"

Caroline watches after her, a smile on her face and she shakes her head. Bonnies one of the nicest people she knows and she doesn't know what she'll do without her. Shes glad shes happy and living it up and probably having amazing mindblowing sex with her hot british boyfriend.

 _Urghh! It's been way too long._

She moves toward the doors and locks them securely before straightening a few chairs. Its her OCD coming out to play, so sue her. The place looks perfect when she switches off the ceiling fans and lamps before she makes her way back upstairs.

For some reason when she reaches the door, she feels the need to knock, she really doesn't want to walk in on something, something she really has no desire to see. Well, maybe just a little. Theres a slight shuffle from inside before the door opens.

Klaus is staring at her, a grin on his lips. "Correct me if I'm wrong love, but this is your apartment. Why are you knocking?"

It seems a bit silly in hindsight but she shrugs off the small blush. "Well, you... maybe... I dont know?"

"You don't know?" He laughs opening the door wider for her.

"Thanks" She grumbles "I didn't know if you would be decent or not" Klaus laughs and shes sure its because shes blushing. "Shut up" She chuckles with a roll of her eyes.

"I didn't say anything"

"Yeah well, just don't. I'm tired. I need sleep, Preferably before you do, maybe then I'll have half a chance"

The rooms silent for a few minutes as Caroline potters about wiping down the surfaces in the kitchen. Her eyes follow him as he sits on the sofa and pulls a pad of paper on to his lap. "Are you hungry?" She asks. She had told him to make himself at home and take full advantage of the fully stocked refridgerator and pantry but he probably had five star chefs at his beck and call in LA, she wonders if he even knows how to cook.

"I made some pasta earlier, There's leftovers in the fridge if you want it" She look dubious because of the whole able/unable to cook debate but she smiles anyway.

"Thanks" She pulls out the contents and puts it in the microwave before silence descends upon them once more. It's not really an awkward silence, just a little uncomfortable. "What did you do today?"

"Not much, I called Tatia, I hope you don't mind, Elena called too, she threatened me to be on my best behaviour and should you have any problems, you have to call her immediately, She also told me to Thankyou again on her behalf, seems she does alot of that"

"I think it's guilty concience" Caroline informs him and he gives her a confused look as she removes her food from the microwave, she digs out a fork and goes to sit beside him on the sofa. Klaus shuffles along a little and she pulls her legs up and under her. "Elena and I have this whole history, We were best friends for a while, she left and never spoke to me for seven years, it's all very dramatic and a bit boring"

"You haven't spoken in seven years?" He repeats "Thats harsh, and quite strange, she talks about you alot"

Thats suprises Caroline and her eyes jolt up to meet his "She does?"

Klaus nods "Often, I just assumed you were someone I had never met before, I thought you two were still close from the way she talked about you"

"Obviously not. Look I don't want to get into Elena right now, can we just leave it?" Klaus nods but doesn't verbally reply. She scoops up a fork full of pasta and takes it into her mouth. The refreshing and harmonious flavours swirl deliciously around her tongue "Mmm..." She can't help the groan that escapes her. "This is good" She points with her fork "Really good"

Klaus dimples, he looks somewhat embarassed by the praise. "Its an old recipe of my mothers, Quite the Culinary expert, she was"

Caroline remembers vaguely seing an article in a magazine about klaus and his mother, she died a few years back after a short illness. She doesn't have a response good enough, not one that will make him feel better anyway so she takes another fork full of food into her mouth. "Was I loud?" His question confuses her, she has no idea what hes talking about and for a moment she wonders if she heard him wrong. "The snoring, I'm told I can be rather loud, I apologise if I kept you from sleep"

His apology catches her off guard. "Well, Yeah you were loud, like earthquake-bringing-the-house-down kind of loud, but you don't need to apologise, It's not like you can help it" She wants to be angry because of lack of sleep but she can't. Technically, it's not his fault and he has no control over what happens when he's asleep. "Maybe we could get you something, them little nose patches that reduce snoring" She suggests. She doesn't think she can stand another night like last night.

"Yeah, We can try, look I know I didn't say thankyou last night but I really do appreciate your help Caroline" The way he says her name just rolls straight off his tongue and it sends a shiver up her spine. "With everything going on at the minute between me and Tatia and now this miraculous child, it all just became too much"

"Miraculous?"

"It is pretty miraculous to concieve a baby with someone you've never even met before"

Caroline can't help but laugh. It still baffles her why anyone would make up a story like that just for some money and fifteen minutes of fame. Surely, any sane person would know the truth will come out eventually. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh, Its just crazy, your life, how do you deal with it?"

"Years of practice love, Its overwhelming but its all part of the package. I love what I do." He responds simply and its all put into perspective for Caroline. If part of her job was being followed around constantly and people prying into her lives, she wouldn't quit doind what she loves. She's not sure she could handle it but that definitely wouldn't stop her from trying. "I've been acting since I was a kid. Its what I want to do, the paparazzi, the fans, none of that even compares to being able to do what I love everyday."

"So you don't like the attention?"

"Of course I do but sometimes it's-"

"Too much" Caroline finishes for him with a small reassuring smile. She plays with her remaining pasta wit her fork as she speaks again. "You know all of this will all blow over eventually, you'll go straight back to being moderately stalked" She attempts a joke and shes thankful when he laughs "You'll be old news before you know it"

"I doubt it, but thanks for the optimism, I could do with a little more of that in my life."

"Then I'm your girl, just call me Mrs. Optomistic" She beams at him before standing to discard of her leftover food.

"You know when Elena told me I would be staying here, I had nightmares of a crazy fangirl throwing herself at me, Have you ever seen the movie Misery?" Klaus jokes and Caroline turns to him with a smile.

"Not to burst your bubble, but you're not _that_ good of an actor" She teases and he gasps in mock insult "Now, Tom Hardy, Channing Tatum or Leonardo Dicaprio, I could chain them to a bed and torture them until they couldn't run away"

"How delightful for them"

Caroline laughs as she rinses the bowl out and pours a glass of wine for herself and Klaus before making her way back over to the couch. "I'm on a strict alcohol ban from Elena, I got into a drunken tif with some reality star a few months back after the MTV movie awards"

"Elena's not here, and neither are the media, The most trouble you can get into is having a tif with me, then you'll be in bother" She shoves the glass of red wine towards him and he takes it without any further prompting. "I'm going to take a nice hot soak in the tub, then its an early night for me"

"It's barely eight"

"And your point is? I haven't slept for two days, I'm entitled to it" She walks toward her bedroom door but stops short remembering her conversation with Bonnie "For future reference, If you plan on getting naked in my living room make sure the door is locked. My best friend Bonnie got an eyeful of your backside when she came up here earlier" Klaus actually looks embarassed and she laughs. "Don't worry, She didn't actually get a good look at your face, she didn't even recognise you, so there won't be naked pictures of you all over the internet, next time you might not be so lucky"

Klaus chuckles and pulls the pad of paper from the coffee table back onto is lap again "Is she Good looking?"

"Bonnie? Very. But you're married, remember"

"Seperated" Klaus corrects her "And theres no harm in having a little fun while I'm away"

Caroline laughs "Bonnies not the type of girl to just have fun, she's not a slut. And she has a boyfriend"

"Shame"

"It really is, Bonnie actually is a fan of yours, She could probably channel her inner Kathy Bates, that could be fun to watch" Caroline comments and Klaus rolls his eyes. "But then again you're supposed to be hiding out here, getting tormented and held prisoner wasn't really part of the plan I guess."

"Who needs plans anyway" Klaus waves it off with a smile. "Although being tortured Misery style doesn't exactly float my boat"

"I'm going to start torturing you soon if you don't leave me be. I'm in desperate need of a bath and some more wine"

Klaus laughs as Caroline makes her way to the bathroom to draw her bath.

* * *

"Hey Caroline!" Stefan shouts as he opens the door to her apartment. He usually wouldn't bother but since she's currently got a visitor, he thought it would be polite to make his presence known. He pockets her spare key and enters, closing the door firmly behind him. "Care? Anybody?" He knows Klaus is there, probably hiding, tucked away in his room somewhere so he shouts a little louder. "I'm Carolines friend, Stefan"

Suddenly a head of short dark blonde hair hair peeks around the door frame of the guest bedroom. "Hi, Caroline told me you were coming to stay for a while before you even got here, don't worry, no cameras, I promise" Stefan lifts his arms and gestures to himself to prove his point.

"You're Damons brother" Klaus states moving into the living area.

"Unfortunately, but don't hold that against me, you can't choose your family"

"Tell me about it" Klaus grumbes "So what brings you by mate? Carolines not here"

"Do you know where she went? We were gonna meet up for lunch but she text me saying she couldn't make it. I called her but there was no answer" It wasn't that rare for Caroline to cancel plans on Stefan or vice versa, sometimes things just happened.

"Last I heard she said something about shopping, that was about four hours ago"

"Girls" Stefan complains falling down onto the sofa. Klaus laughs. "You don't mind me staying for a while do you? Stalker problems, you know how it is" Valerie had followed him from the resterant to Carolines apartment, apparently trying to be sneaky about it. It didn't help that her car was a bright red convertible sports car, it didn't blend in very well.

Klaus only looks amused as he hands Stefan and bottle of beer he's pulled from the fridge. "Not at all, Ex girlfriend?"

"Something like that, we were only together a few weeks until she became all Fatal Attraction on me" Stefan sighs, it wasn't like Valerie was awful to look at and she was fun and bubbly but toward the end of their very short relationship, he half expected to wake up in the middle of the night with her staring at him with a knife in her hand, she turned creepy. "You're married, right?"

"Right"

"And you're happy?" Caroline had told him tid bits of information about Klaus and his wife, but he doesn't know the full story.

"I was, for a while" Klaus responds. Stefans not sure if he wants to question further, of course hes dying to know what Klaus' statement means but unlike Bonnie and Caroline he's not a gossip queen. Luckily Klaus saves him the trouble of figuring out what to say next. "Tatia was my best friend, still is actually. I can talk to her about anything. Just because we've broken up it doesn't automatically mean we're going to hate eachother, she's been a huge part of my life and my sisters best friend, I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Bekah"

"Families" Stefan grumbles, repeating his tone from earlier.

"Tell me about it" Klaus smiles taking a sip of his beer.

"So, all I have to do is marry my best friend and I'm set for life?" Stefan jokes. "I love Caroline but anything other than friendship and I think I might be sick" Carolines like his sister, even the thought of anything more than friendship really freaks him out.

"Caroline is your best friend?"

"Yeah, We've known eachother since high school, shes like my baby sister"

"Which is exactly why if you dish any embarassing stories about me to him, I will kill you" Carolines voice sounds from the door behind them. Both men turn in unison to see Caroline in the doorway, her arms weighed down with shopping bags.

"Shopping? Thats what kept you? Good to know I'm so important to you Care" Stefan whines as both he and Klaus stand to help Caroline with her bags.

"Awww, Steffy. Of course you're important." Caroline croons handing the bags off to the men. "But Macy's had an even more important shoe sale on"

Klaus laughs and shakes his head. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you. You're the one that has to stay here while she shows you everything she bought piece by piece. _With_ full comentary"

"If you leave now, Your stalker is most likely still out there, professional here" Klaus points to himself and Stefan knows its just a ploy to get him to stay and live the nightmare right along side him.

"I'll take my chances" Stefan smirks as he finishes the bottle. He shakes Klaus' hand and gives him a nod. "It was good meeting you"

"You too mate"

"Little bit of advice" Stefan wispers close to Klaus while Carolines rifling through her shopping bags, no doubt about to begin her fashion show. "When you've had enough, mention something about the state of the apartment"

Klaus looks around and apart from Caroline and her bags covering half the floor, the place is pretty spotless. "What about it?"

"Carolines a clean freak, mention a hair in the bath or a towel that smells funny, It'll save your life man" Stefan winks before walking out leaving Klaus alone to endure Carolines rants.

 **Hi Guys, thanks for the faves, follows and reviews, youre all awesome!**

 **Leave me a review, Follow me on twitter WorldHasToOffer or drop me a PM if you've got any feedback or questions.**


	3. Chapter 3

"You can't do that!" Caroline laughs as she shoves the card back toward him "thats cheating."

"I'm fairly certain its allowed sweetheart, it's a pair." Klaus argues. "You did it with sevens"

"Yes because you're allowed to do it with sevens, a seven is basically like giving you another turn, then you can put something else down on top of it" She explains for the tenth time. By this point Klaus is only doing it to wind her up. "Its not that difficult a concept Klaus, sevens can be put down it pairs, any other card can't" She says getting more annoyed with him. He smiles internally at the little v that appears in the middle of her eyebrows.

"Thats ridiculous, I could have won a thousand times over by now, if we were playing by my rules"

"The rules you're making up as you go along? Im sure you could win" Caroline laughs. Shes beautiful when she laughs, her eyes alight with mischief.

Its been over a week since Klaus came to Chicago and playing different card games has become a sort of tradition once Caroline finishes work. Klaus spends his days cooped up in the apartment, mostly sketching or talking to Elena or one of his siblings over skype. He's ventured down into the store once or twice but only when he's sure the coast is completely clear and never without a cap to hide his face.

It's saturday night and they've already been playing cards for over an hour, it gets boring when you lose all the time so Klaus has just about had enough. They've shared a pizza and talked a little and Klaus had tried to persuade her to accept the invite Bonnie had extended to go clubbing tonight but she insisted she was fine staying in. Klaus feels awful for being the reason shes staying in, he likes spending time with Caroline but hes perfectly capable of looking after himself.

"How about something simpler? Highest card wins?"

You cant get much more simple than what theyve already been playing but she splits the deck and pulls out a card, placing it face down on the table. Klaus does the same and hes about to turn it over when Caroline stops him, placing her hand over his.

The moment their skin touches she pulls away, an intense shock shoots up his arm and his eyes snap up to meet hers. Her bright blue eyes penetrate his and for a second his breath catches in his troat. He wonders if she felt it too or if it was just his over active imagination sending stupid signals to his brain and other southern regions of his body.

"Um... Sorry, I was just going to ask what the terms were?"

"Terms?" He asks getting back on track. "Right. Terms. If I win, I want you to be my slave for twenty four hours" Klaus bargains. Its Predictable but right now he cant think of anything else he wants. He cant think full stop.

"Fine, but no kinky stuff" She warns playfully. "When I win, you have to come out with me"

"Out with you, where?" He asks skeptical. Hes been cooped up, staring at the same sights for over a week and he really would like to get out of the house for a bit but he cant risk people seing him. Especially with another woman, that definitely wouldn't look good. Elena would have his balls.

"You'll have to trust me"

"I do trust you" He replies automatically because its true. He does. Shes done a good job keeping everything on the down low so far. He has no reason not to trust her. "And I like your use of the word when, its very confident" he smirks.

Caroline laughs "I will win" She says with finality "and when I do, I'm taking you out of here."

"Fine but no kinky stuff" He repeats her words back to her.

She nods in agreement as she turns her card over with a cocky smile, his confidence faulters when he sees shes got a ten. Thats pretty hard to beat. "Suck it up Klaus."

"Don't get to excited Love" Klaus flips his card over and her jaw drops as she takes in his queen. Klaus laughs at the complete and utter shock on her face "Well well, What are the odds?" It gives him little satisfaction that the game is based purely on luck and requires no skill whatsoever but hes still going to rub it in her face that she lost.

Carolines eyes narrow at him and it just makes him laugh harder. The little v makes an appearence again. "Roughly 0.28 percent if you want to get technical" Caroline frowns.

"You were a nerd in school weren't you?" Klaus teases her and she laughs.

"Actually I was cheer captain, and head of the prom commitee. I won Miss Mystic Falls and homecomig queen" She informed him proudly "But yes, I loved school, I was top of all my classes."

"Why doesn't that suprise me?" Klaus asks "We didn't have proms in England, even if we did I dont think I would have attended. I wasn't always such a looker, you know" He jokes.

Caroline rolls her eyes "Could your ego inflate any bigger?"

"I'm sure we'll put that to the test when you start your duties as my slave" He grins wickedly and he can tell shes trying desperately not to laugh but it slips out anyway.

"What can I get you your highness?" Caroline stands and mock curtseys in his direcrion. Hes going to milk this twenty four hours for everything he can get.

"Just a beer for now, and you may call me king from here on out"

Caroline scoffs. "Yeah, thats not going to happen"

"Beer, now. Peasant" Klaus orders and Caroline laughs.

"You're far too comfortable in this role" She says rolling her eyes as she gets the beer hes requested. "I'm totally jealous if you haven't noticed"

"Maybe someday I'll return the favour"

"Doubtful"

"You're making assumptions"

"Am I?" Caroline asks, its a light hearted comment so he doesn't take offence.

So, he'll agree most celebrities, have assisstants and personal shoppers, but he did almost everything himself. He considers himself normal, whatever that means. Sure, there are advantages to being famous but he wouldn't send someone to do a job he could easily do himself.

Klaus is amused, entertained even. "I have someone to arrange my schedule but thats it, Everything else I do myself"

"Everything?" She asks and he nods. "Cooking?" He nods. "Cleaning?" He nods again. "Laundry?" Klaus stays imobile then and she bursts out into laughter "So you don't, in fact, do everything"

"Tatia does the laundry, only because I can't" He explains. He notices Caroline tense slightly at the mention of his wife. He wonders whats bothering her. Maybe its the fact he's never willigly mentioned Tatia in a domesticated role before. Sure, hes called her a few times but thats about it. "I did attempt it on a few occassions, but I couldn't get the hang of the colours and whites situation" He attempts to shove his thoughts to the side. He'll come back to it later.

Caroline laughs "Are you sure you didn't just do that on purpose so you didn't have to do the laundry?" She asks.

Klaus raises his hands in surrender "you caught me, don't tell my wife that though" he jokes. Caroline stiffens again and he frowns, utterly confused. "Why is it that everytime I mention Tatia, you tense up?"

"What? No I don't"

"Yes you do." He argues. Shes done it twice in the past thirty seconds. Theres no way someone couldn't notice it. "Do you fancy me?" He asks and it completely catches her off guard. Its meant as a joke but now shes blushing and he can't help but think that maybe his assumption is correct. "Is that why?"

"Of course I don't" She responds without a beat as if she had prepared an answer. "I think you've been stuck in here to long, the solitude is frying your brain"

"My brain is working perfectly love, as is that blush on your cheeks, its a beautiful shade of red" He loves watching her squirm and her cheeks turn a deeper shade of red.

"You're delusional"

"You're in denial" he counters "Admit that you fancy me, its nothing to be ashamed of love"

"Why does it bruise your ego so much that one woman in the whole entire female population might not like you? I mean Im sure theres plenty of guys that like you too. You still have thousands of admirers"

"And you are one of them" He adds.

"In your dreams" She scoffs as if shes truly offended. It amuses Klaus to no end. He knows well enough by now when someones interested and Caroline Forbes definitely has that vibe about her.

They banter back and forth for a good twenty minutes before Klaus gives in. He requests another beer and left over pizza before he orders her to turn on the shower and get his towels ready. Caroline obliges but rolls her eyes the entire time. Its ridiculous but it pleases him watching her get more and more pissed off. He has no doubt in his mind that she'll come up with suitable punishment to get back at him.

Klaus is about to suggest they watch a movie when theres a knock at the door. Its just after nine and hes confused as to who it could be. Klaus goes into hiding in his room and waits for Carolines indicator that its safe for him to come out.

* * *

Caroline opens the door and sees Bonnie and Enzo on the otherside. Shes wondering if something is wrong until Bonnie beams at her. "I thought since you didn't want to come out tonight, I would bring the party to you"

"And this is the party?" Caroline indicates to the couple.

"Not me gorgeous" Enzo clarifies "I'm just dropping her off." He kisses Bonnie lightly on the temple before walking away and out the back exit.

"I thought we could slumber it" Bonnie says entering the apartment without an invite. Caroline doesn't mind because it's what they've always done but she's a little worried about the lurking famous man in her guest bedroom. "Everything okay?" Bonnie asks when Caroline doesn't move from the door. Suddenly Boonie looks completely apologetic. "I am so sorry Care, I just assumed you would be alone, hot back guy is back isn't he? I'm so sorry. I'll go. Leave you to it."

Caroline laughs at Bonnies rambling "There is no _it_ , we're not actually doing anything but yes. Hes here."

"Okay. I'll go"

"No. Don't go Bon. I just... just... Um, I need to talk to him. Can you give me a minute?" Caroline really wants her to stay now she's here. It's been forever since their last sleepover and Caroline has missed it. They used to slumber at least wants a month but since the store opened and Enzo came along they've both been pretty busy.

"Yeah, sure. If you wan't me to leave just say so Caroline, don't tell me you want me to stay just to spare my feelings. I promise I won't be offended."

"I want you here Bonnie" Caroline reassures her "Just give me a couple of minutes and I'll be right with you" Caroline rushes off without another word and goes into Klaus' room.

Hes sitting on the bed and he looks up at her with a smile "She's not leaving is she?" He asks but shes sure he already knows the answer. "Its fine love. Just because I'm here your life shouldn't stop. I'll keep out of your way"

"Actually I was going to suggest we tell her?" Caroline offers and Klaus eyebrows raise in suprise. "I trust Bonnie with my life. She won't tell anybody you're here" Klaus looks unconvinced for a moment and she can almost hear the cogs turning in his mind. "Penny for your thoughts"

"Tell her if you wish. You've done an exceptional job of keeping me secret so far, I trust you."

Caroline beams at him. Shes happy he trusts her because even in the short time shes known him, hes became not only a house guest but more of a friend. "Seriously?"

"Did anybody ever tell you, you say that far too often?"

"Yes, a few times actually" She gives him a cheeky smile.

"Don't expect me to come out there and parade around like a performing monkey" He grumbles. "I'll come out later for some beer and food, and don't expect me to socialise either. Stefan I can handle. I like him, everytime I think of Bonnie now I get visions of her breaking my feet with a sledgehammer"

"You're ridiculous" Caroline scoffs. "Fine, don't come out. Whatever. But I'm making cherry pie" Caroline teases him knowing he won't be able to resist leaving for pie.

Caroline leaves Klaus and joins Bonnie in the living room again "Sorry about that."

"No, I'ts fine. I feel stupid. I should have called you." Bonnie says.

"Don't be silly" Caroline says "Look I need to tell you something but I need you to swear to secrecy."

Bonnies face shows confusion and a little panic. "Whats going on? Are you okay?"

"Im fine Bonnie, I swear" She reassures her best friend. "How about we get our pjs on, I'll get the duvet and the wine out and I'll tell you all about it?"

Bonnie nods with a small smile.

* * *

Caroline and Bonnie had sat on the sofa eating ice cream snuggled up under the duvet and Caroline had told her best friend everything. From Elenas first phone call to the reason Klaus was here. They had talked for over an hour before moving into the kitchen where Caroline had started making the cherry pie.

They were one and a half bottles of wine down and Caroline took another swig straight from the bottle before rolling out her home made pie crust. "You know what I'm confused about? why did you even agree? I mean Elena hurt you and still you're doing this huge favour for her"

"I just couldn't say no, yeah Elena and i will never get back to the way we were and I understand the fact that she only called me because she needed something but... I just-"

"You miss her" Bonnie finished quietly.

"Yeah" Caroline agrees. "We'll never be Caroline and Elena again, the way we were back then, we were inseperable but Its just good to know that I'm helping her, I feel good about this. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't fell one hundred percent comfortable with it"

Bonnie seems to think for a while as she takes another sip of her wine. "On to more important subjects then, like why in the hell didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I'm sorry Bon. I was sworn to secrecy myself. You don't know how hard it's been keeping this from you" Caroline felt guilty. Bonnie shared every single tiny secret with her and she couldn't tell her this big, huge one.

"You know whats really wierd? I've seen Klaus Mikaelsons ass"

Caroline laughs "Not many girls can say that Bon, think yourself lucky"

"I don't know, if the magazines and papers are anything to go by then i'm a tiny grain of sand on a beach full of people, that have seen his ass"

"You shouldn't believe what you read in the papers love" Klaus strong british accent replies as he makes himself known.

"Lurker much?" Caroline admonishes him but he simply shrugs as he leans against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "How long have you been there? Have you been creeping on us?"

"Would I ever?" Klaus asks in mock offence placing a hand over his chest. Maybe its the wine, but he looks extra muscular and manly right now and Caroline almost swoons. "Klaus Mikaelson, Actor, sometimes singer and all around people person" he introduces himself to Bonnie.

Caroline scoffs at his description.

 _People person my ass._

"Bonnie Bennett, best friend to Caroline, terrible singer and baked goods are my speciality"

"Nice to meet y-"

"Cut the crap Klaus" Caroline cuts in before he can finish his sentence "Stop pretending you're a gentleman. We all know you're not. You only came out for food"

"Well you can't expect me to starve in there, some host you are" He scoffs. "She beats me too, if I don't line the towels up perfectly on the towel rail, she throws whatevers closest at me"

Caroline picks up a spatula and aims it at him. "Do you wan't that little scenario of yours to become a reality? Because I can help you with that" She offers and he laughs.

"No thankyou love, but I am starving and since youre still my slave for the next twenty hours and twelve minutes. I would like some food."

"Theres cookies in the cupboard, you'll have to make do with them until the pie is done"

"You're his slave? She's your slave?" Bonnie asks, her eyes alight with amusement as she looks between the two.

Caroline smirks "Just for the next twenty hours and eleven minutes" She'll come up with some sort of pay back, shes not sure what just yet but she will.

Klaus smiles at her and suddenly shes lost in him. Whenever he looks at her, its like shes being seen for the first time. His eyes are so blue and intense. She wants to look away but she can't, something is keeping her still and she holds his gaze. Its strange the effect he has on her.

Bonnie pulls them both out of their reverie clearing her throat loudly. Caroline whips her head toward her friend whos grinning like a cheshire cat. "Maybe you should put that in the oven?" She suggests with a smile.

Carolines flustered, all hot and bothered and she refuses to look at Klaus again. If his quick exit is anything to go by, he feels the same. "I'll leave you girls to it. Call me when the pie is done" Caroline doesn't respond verbally, shes not even sure any noise would come out if she tried.

Once she hears the click of his bedroom door she sighs with relief before turning to Bonnie who is still smiling like an idiot. "Don't even start"

"What in the hell was that?" Bonnie says excitedly "Klaus Mikaelson totally has the hots for you"

Caroline rolls her eyes because thats the most ridiculous thing shes ever heard in her life. "He does not" She denies placing the pie in the double oven.

"He so does" Bonnie argues. "Did you see the way he was looking at you?"

"We're living together Bonnie, I'm pretty much the only person hes had any real contact with in over a week." Carolines excuse is feeble and she knows it but she has to try something "If he feels anything, which I doubt he does, its a complete and utter misconception"

"Are you blind? He was totally drooling all over you and your cherry pie" Bonnie wiggles her eyebrows. "Its okay to like him Care, hes hot and single, you're hot and single. Whats the problem?"

"There is no problem" Caroline snaps harshly. She realises just how rude she is and takes a deep breath "Sorry, its just yeah hes hot and damn that accent"

"And you wonder why I love Enzo" Bonnie smiled.

Carolines eyes snap up to meet Bonnies hazel ones. Shes unsure if even Bonnie realises what she said. "You love him?"

"Well, yeah. I thought that was obvious"

"It was. I just didnt realise you had said it to him yet"

"I haven't" Bonnie shrugs "I know I will eventually, because its true. I love Enzo" She says softly as if its the first time shes said it out loud.

Caroline beams at her. "Youre so loved up, its kind of creepy"

"Shut up, in no time at all, you'll be exactly where I am, with your own british-"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence Bonnie Bennett" Caroline warns her with a pointed finger. "And could you possibly quiet down a little? He can probably hear everything we're saying"

Bonnie makes a gesture of zipping her mouth clised and throwing away the key. "Not another word"

"Good" Caroline states. Today has been confusing enough as it is, never mind with Bonnies witty commentary added into the mix.

* * *

 _"Tatia Petrova has been spotted sunning it up by a pool in the luxurious resort of monte Carlo"_ The E! News reporter says on the T.V _"The twenty five year old beauty jetted out of the country with her husband of three years Klaus Mikaelson last Tuesday and a friend of the Victoria Secret model has given us the scoop"  
_

"Some friend" Klaus grumbles "Bloody Parasites everywhere"

Caroline smiles at his little ramble before turning her attention back to the T.V.

 _"Our sources say and I quote, 'Klaus and Tatia needed a bit of time away together, with Klaus being away so much this year filming his latest movie, they've hardly seen eachother, they're still madly in love and want to spend every spare minute they have together'"_

"Told you not to believe everything" Klaus gloats and Caroline throws the vest top shes folding at his head. He dodges it with a laugh. "Just saying"

 _"If thats the case, then why hasn't anyone seen Klaus?"_ Klaus' head snaps back to the T.V as the reporter goes on. _"Witnesses have confirmed theres no sight of the twenty eight year old actor and after a new photograph emerged on Instagram of Tatia_ without _her wedding ring on, we're guessing not all is well in the Mikaelson household"_

 _"With rumours of an alledged mini Klaus circling around, and Tatia vacating alone, it looks to us like the Hollywood couple have split"_

"Fucking hell!Things just get worse and worse by the bloody minute!" Klaus growls at the T.V, stabbing the remote and turning it off. Caroline feels sorry for him, she wants to help but she doesn't know how.

He could really do with a little freedom.

Maybe a call to Elena is in order.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites. I appreciate every single one.**

 **I wanted to address a few points that some reviewers made... First of all SNOWYARBO pointed out that Klaus makes Tatia sound kind of perfect... There is a reason for this. I swear. I know most stories make Tatia the 'bad guy' but I'm going in a different direction with her character. Please bare with me.**

 **Also, Kacomu (guest) said that Caroline was pathetic and half in love with him and that Klaus doesn't even notice her... my response to that is... until last chapter, I havent written from Klaus' POV. So, nobody knows how he feels just yet. There is more from Klaus' POV coming up though.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think... and I'm still looking for a Beta if anyone would like to assist. PM me or follow me on twitter. WorldHasToOffer.**

"Klaus, Hide, Stalker alert" Stefan says rushing into the shop and taking cover behind a table and chairs.

Klaus drops to the floor like a ninja, hes used to the bruises by now "The paparazzi found me?" He asks peaking his head out from around the counter to see Stefan.

"Worse, Valerie found me, shes coming this way"

Suddenly and for a reason unknown to Klaus, Caroline bursts into laughter as her eyes travel between the two men.

If he wasn't in danger of being exposed he would probably find the situation humorous.

The small bell attached to the door rings and Caroline manouvers around Klaus' body thats ccurled up in a featul position on the floor. "Caroline, you haven't by any chance seen Stefan, have you?" Klaus hears a woman ask. He assumes its Stefans ex.

He looks up at Caroline just in time to see her force a smile "Valerie, how wonderful to see you again" her tone is laced with sarcasm and Klaus lets out an inaudible chuckle. "Sorry you just missed him"

"Oh, I could have sworn I saw him come in here"

"Nope, not since earlier"

"Well if you see him could you tell him I was looking for him?"

Caroline nods, her award winning fake smile still firmly intact. She could be a bloody good actress when the situation called for it.

"Great, I'll see you later"

"Actually Valerie" Caroline calls "Um... Did you ever think that maybe you can't find Stefan because he doesn't want to be found?" She asks and Klaus swears he heard a growl from the other side of the counter.

"What are you insinuating?"

"Look you're a nice girl Valerie, a little cookoo for my tastes but you seem well brought up, intelligent and smart" Caroline compliments before she sighs "Look, all im saying is Stefan broke up with you, don't you think you should have moved on by now?"

Klaus smiles because shes using what hes come to know as her compassionate voice.

Theres a very unlady like snort before Valerie speaks again. "I don't think you're in any position to give advice Caroline. When I want you're opinion, I'll ask for it. Until then, I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself"

Klaus is finding the whole conversayion between the girls thoroughly entertaining, he learnt within the first hour of being here that Caroline doesn't stand for that crap. "Oh, for gods sake, Get over it already. He dumped you, move on. Find someone else to stalk"

Klaus hears a huff and loud thumping footsteps and the bell on the door again. He looks up at Caroline and she smiles down at him.

"Its safe to come out of hiding" she calls for Stefans benefit who somehow managed to crawl into a small cleaning closet without being seen.

He makes a mental note to get some tips later.

Stefans smiling at her with the biggest proud expression Klaus has ever seen. "Caroline Forbes, I love you!" He exclaims pulling her in for a hug.

Caroline fights him off. "You are not off the hook yet Salvatore!" She warns him in her stern voice. "You need to talk to her, properly. Make it perfectly clear to her that there is no chance you're ever getting back with her."

"I will Caroline, I promise" Stefan replies. Klaus can tell hes trying not to laugh.

"You better. Or I swear the next time she comes in here, I'll tell her exactly where you are." Klaus smiles at her authority. Shes stunning when shes bossy.

"You wouldn't"

"Oh, I would" She challenges with a raised eyebrow. Its the first time Klaus has seen any sort of sibling rivalry between the pair and he feels a sense of relief. Even though Stefan had told them there was nothing but friendship between them he wondered if there could ever be more.

Seeing the way they are with eachother now, most definitely puts his mind at ease.

Hes grown close to both Caroline and Stefan the past two weeks, both of them welcoming him with open arms. He feels as if hes known them both his entire life.

Just seeing Caroline puts a smile on his face, when hes been cooped up in the apartment all day. Her smile brightens up any room she walks into and her witty, sarcastic, sense of humor could definitely give Kol and Bekah a run for their money.

"So you'll let Mr. Tall, dark and brooding hide here but not your best friend? Thats nice of you"

"Im not that tall" Klaus chips in with a smirk. "Or dark, and according to Caroline, all my brooding is about to discipate into nothingness"

Stefan looks confused, as his eyes glance between the two.

Before Stefan had burst through the doors, Caroline had been talking about how she had the solution to all his problems, Well, not all of them but she was finally able to relieve some of his pent up trouble.

The horrible divorce that was impending, the miracle child created by immaculate conception, the media sticking thier bloody noses where they dont belong. That will all go away apparently.

"I'm taking him to my dads cabin for the weekend" Caroline smiles brightly.

Stefans seems uncertain "Really? You two? Out there, someone might see you"

Caroline rolls her eyes "God, you sound just like Klaus, I already talked to Elena about it. It can't be doing Klaus any good sitting in this apartment day in and day out. At least the cabin is secluded enough that he can actually get out and get some fresh air once in a while"

Klaus thinks that sounds like a fucking excellent plan. He would kill to have one day of bliss. No cell phones or stupid news reporters. No interuptions or distractions. Just himself and Caroline. For a full weekend.

"When do we leave?" He asks.

"Friday night. Straight after work" Caroline informs him. Klaus smiles. Its the first genuine smile hes felt in days.

Whether thats due to the fact that hes getting some peace for a change or the fact he gets to be alone with Caroline for a weekend is unknown.

Either way, hes excited about something for the first time in months.

* * *

"Theres no solid proof, so right now all the media has is speculation, don't worry about it Klaus, this is why you pay Elena the big bucks"

Caroline and Klaus roll their eyes in unison and then laugh when they spot eachother.

Damon has been on the phone for over twenty minutes rambling about the media and publicity and other boring stuff that Caroline has no interest in.

Klaus seems to have had enough too, if his yawn is anything to go by, hes fiddling mindlessly with the three necklaces that are poking out from under his shirt collar.

Thankfully, Caroline has caught up on the sleep she had lost during Klaus' first couple of nights here. She knew he had purposefully stayed awake until after she had fallen asleep the first few nights after their discussion about his snoring and she really was grateful. She was exhausted, and a tired Caroline is a grouchy Caroline.

After that Stefan had brought some nasal spray and some extra strength patches to clear the airways from the hospital he works at, so Klaus' snoring was reduced to barely audible now and Caroline was able to rest peacefully without feeling the walls shake.

"Elenas out right now, shes got a meeting with your father"

"Your father?" Caroline mouths to Klaus and he rolls his eyes again. Why would Elena need to have a meeting with Klaus' father? Its all very strange to Caroline.

"Later" He answers out loud. "Tell her to call me would you? I'm taking a trip with Caroline this weekend and I won't have service while I'm there"

"Oh yeah" Damon replies "Your cabin in the woods adventure... All alone with Goldilocks, that should be fun" Caroline can almost hear the suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

 _Pervert._

"Say another word" Klaus threatens interupting Damon before he can continue his train of thought any further. No doubt Damons mind is in the gutter.

Damons laughter echoes throughout the living room. "Be safe kids" He concludes before the line goes dead.

Klaus shakes his head. "I really need to talk to Elena about him" He sighs.

Caroline laughs. Damons not that bad. Yes, hes a terrible brother to Stefan and yes hes an ass to just about everyone but he treats Elena like a queen.

"Bekah once threatened to castrate him because she caught them going at it in my study at home."

Caroline grimaces. She really doesn't want that visual. "She sounds like someone I could really get along with"

"Don't tell me you don't like Damon Salvatore?" He asks sarcastically, as if everyone automatically loved Damon. Caroline still had trouble figuring out what Elena saw in him.

Caroline giggles because its just about the only thing she can do. She doesn't know how to explain her relationship with Damon. "Its all very complicated"

Klaus raises his eyebrows, shes caught his attention with that statement and she can tell he wants to know more. "When Stefan and Damon moved to Virginia, I had it really bad for Stefan" she laughs at the absurdity. "But of course with Elena around, I couldn't get a look in. Damon came to me with promises that we could help eachother out. A mutual agreement, we dated for a while, I thought in my pathetic, insecure little mind that it would make Stefan jealous. But it didn't work. The more I got to know Stefan, the more I realised how much he and Elena were meant for eachother."

"Stefan and Elena were dating?" Klaus asks, he looks genuinely suprised and Carolines shocked he hasnt heard this story before now.

"Yep" she pops the P. "Stefan had to go away for a while, his mom was sick. She abandoned them when they were only young so Damon didnt care. While Stef was away, Damon broke it off with me, he got closer with Elena. They spent almost every minute together and when Stefan returned Elena had done everything but take up residency in Damons bed."

"So not only is Elena with your ex boyfriend, but shes dating her exes brother?" Klaus' face twists "and I thought my family were bad."

Caroline laughs "I wouldn't exactly call Damon my ex, but yeah sort of. It all worked out in the end though. Elena and Damon are happy and Stefan and I are best friends. I wouldn't change it for the world." Everything had turned out fine, except the tiny minor detail that Stefan and Damon very rarely spoke anymore. "To an insecure, self-conscious, jealous seventeen year old Caroline, it was alot more traumatic back then." She laughs.

"Jealous? Of Elena? I cant see how that would be a problem love, you're beautiful and strong"

Beautiful? Shes never been called beautiful before, sure, hot, sexy. But never beautiful.

His compliment makes her smile and internally she feels like screaming, he knows the exact right thing to say when shes feeling iffy. "Maybe now I am. Teenage me, not so much"

Klaus laughs "Everyone has their insecurities Caroline, especially when youre a teenager. I wasnt lying when I said I was a little less... confident a few year back."

"Mr. Klaus Mikaelson has confidence issues? And here I thought you were on overload."

" _Had_ confidence issues." Klaus corrects her. "And can you blame me? With the world critisizing every step I make, of course Ive got my doubts" Klaus tells her. "Youve just got to rise above it. Be better than anyone expects, do greater things. Be who you want to be and don't give a shit what anyone else thinks"

Caroline grins. For the longest time, she was always trying to please everyone else around her. She worked hard to get good grades, spent endless hours picking the perfect dress for the Miss Mystic pageant, and was nice to every single person, even if they didnt deserve it.

And still she didnt feel good enough.

Shes got past that since high school, but theres always that little reminder in the back of her mind.

"I dont care what people think of me." She responds. "Im happy now, thats all that matters, right?"

"Right" He agrees with a nod. "And if its any consilation, Damon Salvatore is an idiot for choosing Elena over you"

* * *

Bonnie sits on the stool next to Stefan, his head is slumped between his shoulders as he stares at the bottom of his glass tumbler. Bonnie puts her purse down and orders a drink from the bar tender. "Whats bothering you Stef?" He looks tired, worn out and severly irritated.

Stefan laughs "What isnt bothering me?" He corrects her original question. "How about everything, is that an adequit answer?"

Bonnie chuckles "You are so hard done by Stef. What an awful life" Bonnie jokes. Stefans got an amazing job, hes well off money wise, hes got great friends and a gorgeous apartment so shes confused as to what could be so bad.

"I lost a patient at work today" He replies just as the bar tender returns with her rum and coke.

"Oh, I'm sorry Stefan, I didnt mean-"

"No. Dont worry about it. Obviously its all part of the job. I cant save everyone" Stefan replies. "Its just difficult, having to see that, telling their families. It makes me wonder about the future."

"The future? Why?"

Stefan sighs. "Their families. I mean, my mother died, my dads a dick, Damon and I barely talk anymore, dont get me wrong, you and Caroline are the closest to a normal family I've had in years. I just miss them sometimes."

Bonnie can understand where Stefans coming from, her mom skipped out when she was young, she never met her dad and her grams raised her. When she lost her, she felt like she had nobody in the world that loved her, until she met Stefan and Caroline.

"Is there any chance of you and Damon getting back on track? Its been years since the whole ordeal with Elena. Maybe you could make ammends? And we all know youve moved on from her, Regardless, the first girlfriend you had turned out to be a psycho but still, its progress"

Stefan laughs "I dont know. Maybe. Damons a dick but hes still my brother, You know?"

Bonnie nods "Maybe you two can work it out, and your next girlfriend wont be such a wierdo"

"Yeah, I havent had much luck with women, have I?" He says as he swirls around on his chair and stands up.

Bonnie doesnt know how but suddenly theres a glass smashed on the floor with liquid all over the place and Stefans grabbing a woman, saving her from falling after he bumped into her. "Im so sorry, I wasnt paying attention"

The woman glances up at Stefan and her eyes widen slightly at the sight of the man infront of her. "No harm done, except to my blouse, no matter." Her thick british accent replies.

Stefans still holding her steady as he responds. "Let me buy you an apology drink? I should have been watching where I was going"

"Yes you should have" She answers wiping her stained cream top. "I suppose one drink wont hurt, but you have to promise not to ruin any more of my clothing" the side of her mouth lifts up into a smile.

"No promises" Stefan replies. "Im Stefan"

"Im Rebekah" The stunning blonde woman replies as Stefan leads her to the bar, he winks at Bonnie and she shakes her head.

* * *

"Where the hell is Stefan?" Bonnie asks coming into work Friday morning "We were at the bar last night and then he just disappeared"

"Disappeared as in POOF. Gone. Or disappeared as in he went home?" Caroline teases as she finishes putting the biegnets out on display in the glass top counter.

"Honestly, i have no idea, he was raving on about Damon and then the next thing i know, hes spilled a drink all over this blonde girl, they were talking at the bar, i went to the bathroom and when i came back out they were both gone."

"Damn, that boy works fast" Caroline says almost proud. Stefan needs to get out once in a while. He deserves to have a little fun. "So he went home with the girl. What does it matter?"

"It doesn't. I mean I'm happy hes getting some, but he could have told me. I mean he left me there and some awful fat, sweaty biker dude kept trying to tell me about how is wifes ceating on him." Caroline bursts out into laughter and Bonnie glares at her as she leans over the counter "It is not funny. I'm traumatised"

Once Carolines stopped laughing, she takes a deep breath "Why didn't you just leave?"

Bonnie slumps down into a chair "Because I kept wondering what if Stefan hadn't went home? What if he came back and I wasn't there? I swear I'll kill him one of these days."

Caroline smiles at her dramatics. "Relax Bon, You're fine, I'm sure Stefans more than fine. Everything turned out okay"

"I'm still going to kill him, he just left me there!"

"I'm sure he had other things on his mind Bonnie, I seem to recall an incident from about a year and half ago when _my_ best friend left me in a club with some strange guy so she could go home with his friend" Caroline says remeniscing to the first time Bonnie met Enzo. A year and a half later and they're practically living together, though if you were to ask Bonnie she would completely deny it.

Bonnie rolls her eyes and Caroline knows shes stumped. "I thought I told you not to bring that up again?"

"But I just love rubbing it in your face" Caroline smiles. "Hopefully shes better than the last one"

"Who?"

"The girl Stefan went home with"

"I can guarentee it. If shes willing to have sex with him that fast, I doubt shes looking for anything serious" Bonnie replies and shes got a point. Though maybe bringing up the fact Bonnie slept with Enzo after a few hours isn't a good idea. "Anyway, I thought you were leaving today? Are you all packed?"

Of course she is. Shes been packed since she first thought of this idea. "Yep, all ready to go. I dont think Klaus is quite as prepared."

"Men never are" Bonnie laughs just as the bell signals a customer coming through the door. She stands up and takes her place behind the counter and gives her best smile to the young brunette woman. "Hey, What can I get you?"

Caroline moves into the back kitchen where shes prepared some cookie dough, she starts rolling it out as she thinks about the weekend ahead. It will be good to get away for a few days, she hasn't been back to the cabin in almost two years so it'll be good to take a break. But shes most excited for Klaus, she wants him to relax and have a good time and forget all about his problems in the real world.

If there's one thing Caroline Forbes is good at, it's being a distraction.

 **Next chapter is the start of Klaus and Carolines weekend away...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

 **Please let me know what you think of this one. Follow me on Twitter. It's not as long as other chapters, but I felt like it was the right place to end it. WorldHasToOffer.**

"So this is it" Caroline outstreches her arms after placing her bags on the floor. "Welcome to my humble abode"

Klaus glances around at the wide open space, its bigger than he thought it would be, and more modern. The interiors look out of place considering ten metres back the way he just came is a lake surrounded by a thick forest.

"I used to come here with my mom and dad, when they divorced, my dad got the cabin and I didnt come here for a very long time."

"Its perfect" Klaus replies. The whole place is so peaceful. Even the air smells different, far away from the populated city and the bustling busy roads.

"Im glad you approve" Caroline says enthusiastically. "Come on, I'll show you to your room, you can put your bags down before I make us some dinner"

"I'll make dinner tonight" Klaus insists. Its only fair. Carolines sacrificed so much for him already and he feels like hes taking advantage. "You're already doing me this huge favour just by bringing me here, I'll make dinner" He smiles at her.

Caroline nods and returns the smile "Okay, well how about we get settled and I'll show you around the kitchen? Its very well equipped"

"Wouldn't expect anything less love" Klaus smirks. He takes his jacket off and places it in Carolines outstreched hand. "Thankyou" he says as she hangs it on the hook.

"Upstairs first" Caroline states picking up her holdall bag and tossing it over her shoulder, the weight of it nearly causing her to topple over. Klaus keeps her upright as he laughs.

"What have you got in there sweetheart? You do realise we're only here for the weekend" Hes well aware what a woman would call essentials is completely different to a mans idea. He lived with Rebekah for sixteen years and whenever they went on vacation, no matter how long for, Rebekah would pack everything but the kitchen sink.

"Curling Iron, clothes, wellington boots." She answers "Its the boots thats doing it" Klaus laughs as he follows her up the hard wood staircase. She stops at the first door at the top. "This is your room for the weekend" she says swinging the door open. Klaus walks in and places his bag on the king sized bed and takes a quick sweep around the room. "Bathroom is next door, theres another one downstairs too and my room is the one down at the end of the hall, I'll let you get settled and meet you back down stairs for dinner?"

Klaus nods. "Yes. Thankyou Caroline. For everything." Shes gone above and beyond anything he would have asked of her. Just being here for the weekend is going to improve his mood considerably.

Caroline gives him a small smile before closing the door as she leaves.

* * *

Carolines in the kitchen when Klaus enters. Its late and already dark outside. Klaus had taken a shower and changed into his batman lounge pants and a plain black t-shirt. The drive over had been long and hes glad theyre finally here and able to relax.

On the drive he was constantly looking in the rearview mirror, his excessive paranoia coming out to play. But as always Caroline had kept him safely tucked away from prying eyes.

"Hey" Caroline smiles. By the looks of it shes showered too. Shes wearing lilac cotton pajamas and her hair is still damp and piled on the top of her head. Somehow she looks more beautiful. "I hope you don't mind, I was starving so I started dinner"

Klaus rolls his eyes. "Yes I mind, I was supposed to be making dinner for you Caroline"

"I didn't bring you here to get something in return Klaus" She says pointedly "We're friends, and I wanted to help you. I don't have an ulterior motive"

He knows shes telling the truth but its hard to believe. Everyone wants somethig from him. Whether it be an autograph or an interview or a picture. Or money like that stupid bloody woman who was ruining his life with stupid stories.

"You don't owe me anything"

"Actually I'm pretty certain I owe you dinner, so grab a glass of wine and go sit, I'll finish up here" Caroline narrows her eyes at him and shes about to argue

"How about-"

"Caroline" He interupts her.

"What if I just-"

"Sit" He points to the dining table but she still doesn't do as shes told.

"Maybe I could-"

"Caroline, just let me make dinner for you, please?" Shes so stubborn when she wants to be. Its endearing to Klaus, once she sets her mind to something, nothing can stop her. "Please?"

Caroline huffs and he smirks at the little pout. "Can I at least help you somehow?"

"You want to make dinner with me?"

"Well considering I was the one that started it, I think I should be able to help finish it"

"Sit" He orders again and this time she obliges, after at least five huffs and a few stomps of her foot. Klaus laughs as he sets to work.

He grabs two wine glasses from the shel and pours them each a generous amount.

It takes Klaus about thirty minutes to finish their meal of grilled chicken with roast potatoes and asparagus. Hes starving so as soon as he sits at the small round dining table, he takes a sip of his wine and digs in.

They talk throughout the meal about just about everything that is considered small talk, the weather, the surroundings, the fact that they're miles away from civilisation. Klaus is most excited about the last part. It's been years since hes been truly alone and the feeling is amazing. Hes honestly the most content hes ever felt in his life. The revelation suprises him but in a good way.

"About the other day" Caroline interupts his thoughs "When you were on the phone to Damon, he said Elena had a meeting with your father" He was wondering how long it would take her to bring that up again. Its a complicated answer and he's far too worn out to get into it right now, so Klaus gives her the short and sweet version.

"My father is Tatias manager" Caroline almost spits her drink all over the table and Klaus cant help but laugh. Thats just about the response he gets everytime someone hears the news. "Are you okay, love?" Klaus asks as she calms her coughing considerably.

Caroline nods. "Yeah, I'm just processing." She takes a drink of the water beside her and wipes her mouth with a napkin before pushing her almost empty plate away from her. "Your dad is Tatias manager? Why?"

"Well if you want to get technical, hes not my real father" Klaus responds. Its a little known public fact but Klaus trusts Caroline. Shes got plenty of ammo if she wanted to sell her stories to the papers. "He was the one that introduced us."

"Why not _your_ manager?"

Klaus shrugs "Mikael controlled my life for over sixteen years, I'm not about to pay him to do it now." Mikael had never been an awful parent, he just wasn't what one would call a loving father either. He was always more interested in Rebekah and Kol, Klaus got shoved out sometimes. It wasn't until he started making money and getting regular acting jobs that Mikael wanted anything to do with Klaus.

"Is that wierd though? I mean, seriously wierd"

Klaus laughs at her description. Its a little odd but unless business directly involves Tatia _and_ Klaus, then he very rarely sees the man who brought him up. "It can be"

They stay silent for a few moments before Caroline stands to clear the table. "I was thinking we could take a walk in the morning? If you want? Its your weekend after all"

Klaus nods "Our weekend, you're here to relax too love" She works hard for what shes got so he knows she deserves a break. "Maybe, we'll see. I actually googled the place before we got here. I really want to visit that waterfall that-"

"That turns things to stone!" Caroline exclaims excitedly "I love that place, It's called the petrifying well, which kind of reminds me of Harry Potter, and is a stupid name because its not in fact a well" She rolls her eyes "Theres things hanging from it, stuff thats been there for decades, centuries even. A stuffed bear, an old boot, an umberella. Its amazing, I totally have to take you there"

Her enthusiasm excites Klaus and he finds himself smiling. She rambles on for a few more minutes and he listens to every word. "I'm sorry, I totally reverted back to my ten year old self" Caroline laughs "Theres also a wishing well if you're interested?"

"Does it work?" Klaus asks. He doesn't really believe in all that hocus pocus stuff but hes genuinely curious to what she thinks.

"Some people think it does. I've only ever made one wish there and it hasn't came true yet. My moms, Dads, Elenas and Matts wishes came true though. So who knows? Maybe I just did it wrong?"

Caroline fills the sink and starts work on cleaning the crockery. "What did you wish for?" He asks taking the first plate from her and drying it with the dish towel.

"If I tell you it won't come true Klaus" She replies pointedly "but lets just say, I was a twelve year old, obsessed with tatty teds, I had my first crush on Troy Bolton and I had braces." Caroline laughs and Klaus smiles.

"Out of all that you just said I only got the part about Troy Bolton, what possessed you love?"

"Hey!" Caroline slaps his arm playfully "I was a kid and he had cute hair" Klaus rolls his eyes.

"So, I'll bet your wish was to meet him?" Klaus guesses. Its the most common thing most people or a kid rather with a crush would wish for. He can't remember how many times he had to hear Rebekah going on about Cole and Dylan sprouse. She annoyed him to no end.

"Actually No. But If given the chance now I wouldn't say no. Zac Efron is hot. Definitely improved with age."

"Hes not a bottle of whisky, Caroline" Caroline laughs as she finishes off the washing up.

She hands Klaus the last plate and his fingers graze over hers. Caroline jumps slightly for a reason unknown to Klaus and before he can help it the plate smashes to the ground.

"Shit!" Klaus curses as he bends to pick up the pieces.

"Just leave it Klaus, its fine. I'll sweep it up" Caroline insists as she starts tip toeing around the shards of glass.

"Stay still Caroline" Klaus orders sternly and for a change she actually listens. Hes worried she'll cut her feet or hurt herself so he grabs her sandals from near the front door and hands them to her. "Here, put these on, I don't want you getting hurt"

Caroline pulls herself up onto the counter and slips her sandals on. "Did anybody tell you, you're really bossy?"

"Often"

"You're one of those strict, asshole bosses aren't you?" Caroline jokes as they both begin picking the shards of porcelain up. "I would hate to work for you"

"I wouldn't let you work for me" He counters and she looks really offended.

Klaus chuckles. "You're too bloody stubborn, at least Elena does as I say when I say it"

"Yes sir, No sir, three bags full sir" She says in her best obedient and sweet voice. "Wheres the fun in that? And for future reference, you're better off telling me not to do something, then I might actually do it"

They finish picking the pieces off the floor and place them in the trash. Klaus glances down at the floor and he can still see tiny little glistening shards. Because Caroline is Caroline and shes a pain in the arse at doing as he asks when shes not playing slave, he takes matters into his own hands.

Literally.

He grabs her around the waist and with very little effort, he lifts her up, gently plonking her on to the counter top again. Carolines shocked. He can see it on her face and it amuses him that she didn't think he was capable of such a bold move. "Stay exactly where you are love" He breathes attempting to not be too affected by their close proximity.

Caroline pushes herself back on the counter slightly putting a little space between them and Klaus steps back, careful of where hes standing. "Dustpan and brush?"

"Closet" She answers, her finger pointing to a small door near the downstairs bathroom.

Klaus quickly retrieves the items and sweeps the floor thoroughly. They stay silent the whole time and Klaus tries not to think to much about the way his finger tips grazed the bare skin of her stomach as her top rode up slightly when he lifted her.

When hes done, he returns the dustpan and brush to their rightful place and offers Caroline his hand. She takes it with a grateful smile as he helps her down.

He studies her face as she awkwardly crosses her arms over her chest. Shes fidgiting, looking down at the floor and to him it looks like nerves.

Hes attracted to Caroline, theres no doubt about it. Her golden blonde hair frames her face perfectly and her eyes are constantly bright and shining. She looks up at him in that instant as if she can hear his thoughts, her eyes flick from his blue orbs to his mouth again and for a split second hes sure shes going to kiss him.

He wants her to. Badly. So he slowly and hesitantly leans in, hoping she'll meet him half way. Hes worried hes receiving signals that are none existant. What if hes imagining it all? What if the attraction he feels is due to the fact that for the past two weeks the only person he's spent any real time with is Caroline.

Usually with women, before Tatia, he would have made the move without a second thought, but this is Caroline and what he has with her right now is pretty perfect and he doesn't want to fuck it up.

"Its late. We should probably head up to bed... I mean our seperate beds...You in yours. Me in..." Klaus notices the familiar blush on her cheeks again and she moves further away from them. Hes disappointed but hes never seen anything more adorable. "Yeah, anyway, goodnight" Caroline says before scampering off past him and up the stairs.

"Goodnight Sweetheart" He replies but shes already gone. Klaus sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

His body is crying out more and more with each passing second he spends with her. He wants to touch her and make her laugh, talk to her and learn every little detail about her life.

He knows hes just digging a deeper whole for himself, he's got enough to worry about without a new woman on the scene but Caroline Forbes invaded his world and he can't shake her, even if he wanted to.

But that one little move against her could have possibly ruined everything they had built since meeting, but still, the only thing he regrets is, he didn't have the courage to move all the way in.


	6. Chapter 6

"Thank the bloody lord for that" Enzo sighs in relief when he sees Stefan making his way through the doors of Sheilas place. "Where've you been mate?"

"Sorry got held up" Stefan answers vaguely.

"For almost two days?" Enzo asks, grinning. Stefan smiles. "Have a good time did we?"

Stefan takes off his jacket and dumps it on the chair behind the counter before he begins helping Enzo serve the queue of customers. Bonnies in the back kitchen, covered in flour and sugar. "A very good time" Stefan smiles. For the first time in a while Stefans got his spark back. He feels happy, relaxed and ready to take on the world.

After serving all the customers and theyre all seated with fresh mugs of coffee, Enzo finally sits beside Stefan. "Break out the popcorn Bonnie, Stefans going to tell me all about his little sex romp"

"No. Stefans really not." He argues, his time together with Rebekah had been perfect. Just no fellings, no attachment sex.

The little conversation they did have was fun and playful and it was exactly what Stefan needed.

"Why didn't you call me?" Bonnie comes through and smacks Stefan on the back leaving a white hand print on his shoulder. "You were supposed to be helping out today"

"Sorry Bon, I got distracted" Stefan apolgises with his best puppy dog eyes. "Besides Enzo is here, you look like youre both doing perfectly well without me"

"Not bloody likely" Enzo protests. "Im a builder, I build things, big, heavy, masculine things. I don't think the white pinny and butter icing suits me very much" he says as he stands and grabs his coat. "Call me later Bon" He turns to her and kisses her, shes careful not to touch him with her powdery hands.

"You're leaving?"

"You don't need me here Bonnie, look, Stefans here now" He smirks hitting him in the shoulder. "Hes better at this than I am"

Stefan rolls his eyes. Thats a shit excuse if hes ever heard one. "Talk to you later, gorgeous" He winks at Bonnie before leaving the establishment.

Stefan and Bonnie are quiet for a few seconds before Bonnie turns to him. "So this girl?"

Stefan laughs, because its so typical of Bonnie to want gossip. "I'm not telling you anything" He insists.

Bonnie huffs. "You have to give me something here Stefan! Plus you did leave me in that dive bar" She brings out the guilt card and Stefan instantly feels obligated. He hates it when girls do that.

"Theres not much to tell. It was fun. Thats it"

"So you're not going to see her again?" Bonnie asks and Stefan shakes his head. Both he and Rebekah had agreed that thier time together was nothing more than meaningless sex. Earth shattering but still meaningless.

"No. It was a one time thing" Or rather numorous times but Bonnie doesn't need the details. "We were both very clear on that from the start" Plus with Valerie still lurking around, now wasn't the best time to be getting himself involved with another girl. "Anyway have you heard from Caroline at all?"

"Nope, but the cell service is terrible at the cabin. She text me when she was half way there. I wonder what theyre doing? All alone, in the middle of nowhere. All that pent up sexual tension, probably having the time of thier lives..."

* * *

Carolines been awake for over an hour, yet, she can't bring herself to leave her room. Shes showered and straightened her hair twice, holding off for as long as she can.

She heard Klaus go down stairs about ten minutes after she woke but she hasnt heard a peep from him since.

Last night is playing on her mind on replay, over and over again. The feel of his hands on her skin, his hot breath mixing with hers as he leant in toward her, if only she had the courage to move those couple inches, she could have been waking up in a completely different scenario this morning.

Shes admitted now that Bonnies assumptions were correct. Klaus feels something toward her, whether it be feelings of lust, desire or plain old attraction is yet to be determined.

But shes uncertain whether she actually wants to find out.

Its Klaus Mikaelson for god sake!

Its not every day you have a near kiss with a hot, dimpled movie star, so to say shes conflicted and confused is the understatement of the century.

She stares at herself in the mirror for a few more minutes and breathes deeply, as she plucks up the courage to face the day ahead.

She did drama in high school, shes good enough an actress to get through this, all she has to do is pretend like it never happened and hope that Klaus does the same. She breathes once more and gives herself a reassuring nod in the mirror.

She moves fast enough so she can't change her mind and shes out the door and making her way down the stairs before she knows it.

As the kitchen comes into view, she spots Klaus, sitting at the dining room table reading a book. His hair is in dissaray, but he seems refreshed and looks a hell of a lot better than she feels. She plasters on her Miss Mystic smile. "Good morning" She says brightly moving to pour herself some coffee.

"Good morning Love" He says looking up at her. Hes studying her and its slightly unsettling but all she can look at are his deep cherry lips.

Caroline internally groans, why did he have to be so gorgeous? In any other situation this could all be handled, just avoid any sort of contact and the problem would go away, but this is Klaus and hes staying with her for an undetermined amount of time, so she has to be civil. "I though we could have breakfast then if youre up for it, we could take that walk?"

"I'm not certain the rains going to hold off" he replies glancing out of the window at the glumy sky. It does look awfully dull but Caroline doesn't care.

"Thats exactly why I brought my wellys"

"Using british terms now, are you? Before you know it I'll have you drinking a proper cup of coffee in a proper coffee pot"

Caroline laughs and puts on her best british accent "A proper cup of coffee in a proper coffee pot"

Klaus smirks at her failed attempt "Close enough" She knows it was terrible and hes just being nice. She'd really like to hear his American accent, just to even the score. "I didn't bring Wellys. As far as I was concerned I was going to be in an apartment in the city."

"I'm sure my dad has some lying around you could use."

Klaus shuts his book with a thud and stands from his chair. "Its settled then, I made dinner last night so you can make breakfast while I shower." Klaus smirks.

"Hey! That is so unfair. I _wanted_ to help with dinner"

"Yet, you didn't" He argues "Pancakes would be lovely sweetheart" He grins cheekily as he walks past her to the downstairs bathroom.

The scent of yesterdays shower gel, mixed in with a little sweat hits her nostrils and she inhales deeply. He smells so good.

"Tick, tock, Caroline. We haven't got all day"

"I'll shove pancakes right up your ass" She mumbles and she can hear him chuckling as the bathroom door closes.

Shes thankful Klaus hasn't mentioned last night, apparently hes going with the ignore the problem and it'll go away theory too. Shes not complaining. Its better this way.

* * *

After breakfast, they set off on their trek, Klaus isn't usually one for nature but the scenery takes his breath away. Which is strange considering theyre surrounded by trees, however its the smell and the sounds that have him enjoying the twenty minute walk to the pettrifying well.

He feels free and relaxed, its a far cry from the flashing cameras and the spotlights that surround him in LA. He loves his work and wouldn't change it for the world but he's enjoying the peace and quiet that Carolines fathers cabin has given him.

The companys not bad either.

Carolines walking slightly ahead of him, giving him the perfect view of her arse. Shes wearing a black top, a khaki coloured jacket and tight black jeans that leave very little to the imagination. Klaus can't help it, she looks stunning in anything she wears and the outline of her arse is prominant in the trousers shes wearing.

From the minute he saw her, he knew there was a physical attraction, but now its getting to a point where he wants her. All of her, even her snide little comments she makes on a regular basis.

"Come on, slacker" Caroline throws over her shoulder. "You're holding us back"

"Apologies Love, I was under the impression we had all day"

"We do. But just because Im wearing my boots it doesn't mean I actually want to have to put them to use."

"And what beautiful boots they are" He jabs pointedly looking at her bright pink flowery wellys.

"These are my favourite boots I'll have you know, I bought them when I was fourteen, especially for when I came out here. My mom wouldnt let me have a dog so I would walk three miles to get Mrs. Tanners dog, Skip, just to take him for a walk. My shoes always got ruined so I invested in these babies and a decade later theyre still going strong" She replies.

"You walked three miles just to take a dog, which wasn't yours for a walk in the middle of nowhere?" Klaus smirked. Shes like one giant puzzle that he can't figure out. Shes constantly suprising him with her quirky personality.

"It was relaxing, especially when it rained, of course back then I had the good sense to wear a waterproof coat" she laughs looking at her attire. "If it starts raining now..."

"You're shit out of luck?"

Caroline laughs. "Yeah I guess so."

They stop at a clearing in the trees and when Klaus looks down he shares an uncertain look with Caroline. Before them, is a grassy, muddy hill, one in which Klaus assumes they have to go down and he speaks his thoughts out loud.

Caroline rolls her eyes "Aren't you like Mr. Action star, surely you do stuff like swinging from vines and rolling down hills everyday"

"I have never, nor will I ever play the role of Tarzan, love." Klaus jokes "and thats what stunt doubles get paid for"

"Don't be a baby, it's not that steap, a couple of steps and we'll be at the bottom, are you coming or not?" She asks, hes not sure why but she offers him her hand.

He takes it and wraps his fingers around her smooth skin. A warm, exciting feeling bubbles up in the pit of his stomach but he pushes it back down. He feels like a hormonal fourteen year old boy. He shouldn't get so worked up over something as simple as skin contact. "This is going to end in disaster" Klaus voices his fears and Caroline simply laughs before taking her first step.

All is well for the first few seconds, the grips of her fathers boots doing wonders for Klaus' balance. Caroline is watching him, rather than watching where shes going, and her foot catches on something sending her toppling down the grassy barge.

Suddenly, giving Klaus no time to react, she drags him down with her. They slide a few feet and Klaus is sprayed in the face with slodgy mud and lands in a shallow puddle.

When they finally stop moving and Klaus realises they made it all the way to the bottom, Caroline turns to Klaus, he feels thoroughly inflated and Caroline bites her lip to stifle her laugh. "Told you we could make it"

Klaus' lips twitch up in amusement as he pulls himself from the mud and holds a hand out to help her up. "Seems your wellys aren't as strong and trustworthy as you thought love"

Caroline pouts as he helps her to her feet. "Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in." Shes wiping her hands on her black pants but no matter how hard she wipes, more dirt makes an appearence.

Klaus cant help but laugh as she puffs her hair out of her face, shes got a slodge of dirt on the right side of her chin and he reaches out, removing it with his thumb.

Caroline stares at him for a few seconds and it feels suddenly extremely intimate. He wonders if hes crossed a line.

Last night after dinner she couldn't get out of there fast enough, its frustrating because he knows she likes him. Shes just to bloody stubborn to admit it.

"Um... Thanks" she says turning her face away from him and Klaus deflates. Not to burst his own bubble but its never been this hard getting a woman to react to him in the past and a stab of disappointment shoots through him. "We're here" She smiles triumphantly but Klaus can tell its fake. "Lets go make a wish, shall we?" Caroline walks away from him without waiting for a response.

xxKCxx

Theyve walked for miles over the span of a few hours, Carolines enthusiastically telling him tales of her childhood spent with her parents and her friends. She realises shes rambing a bit but he seems interested so she keeps going on and on. Matt used to swing from the tree branches pretending to be an ape, Elena would act like the lost princess in the woods and Caroline would play the queen disgusted to be in such awful conditions.

She tells him all about the well and the superstitions surrounding it. There were people who believed the well to have magical healing properties so the locals, centuries ago, would bathe in it. Caroline would much prefer a hot shower if she were being honest. The high mineral content meant it couldn't be drank and anything that was left in the water for more than a few days, was locked in place as the item began turning to stone.

"Some people say the waters cursed, some say its a blessing"

"We should leave something, in memory of our time together" Klaus suggests.

"Seriously? Like what?" Its a good idea, shes not sure if messing with the well is against any laws but just this once she'll let it slip because shes always wanted to leave something in the water.

"A wellington boot perhaps?" Klaus grins. "Fits the situation perfectly, and when it turns to stone, in years to come you'll be able to come back here and see it"

"Oh my god! And I can remenisce on the time I spent with _thee_ Klaus Mikaelson, the amazingly, talented, famous Movie star. Everyone will be _so_ jealous!" She squeels in mock excitement. "I can bring my kids here and show them and they'll think I'm like the coolest mom _ever._ "

"Haha" Klaus deadpans "It was just a suggestion Sweetheart, you dont have to get smart"

"Can't help it" she grins walking along side him. "I was kidding Klaus, we should totally put something in there, not my beloved footwear though. Before we leave we can come back"

"As long as you take me the long way and not down that hill again"

Carolines reminded of the feel of his fingers on her face and she shivers. It felt so good but she refuses to give in to temptation. Getting involved with Klaus is a major no no. She smiles "I promise"

They walk together for a further five minutes, chatting animatedly and Caroline realises the clouds above them seem to be getting darker. Theyre grey and dense and Caroline doesn't think the rain is going to hold off much longer.

"A quick stop to make a wish, then we're going to have to head back to the cabin" Caroline directs him to a cave, its only small and barely fits the two of them under the shelter but off to the right is a little hole in the wall where a pool of water no more than a couple of inches deep stands.

"Not a very good well, is it?" Klaus surmises and Caroline giggles "Go ahead, love. Wish till your hearts content" he gestured.

Caroline quickly reads the plaque nailed to the wall of the cave, which has instructions on it. Its been a while since she came here and can't remember how it works. She scans the words thoroughly.

She dips her left index finger into the water and closes her eyes. There isn't really anything she wants to wish for so she wishes for the same thing her twelve year old self had. It hasn't come true yet, so she doubts it will.

She steps back with a smile. "Your turn"

Klaus rolls his eyes and she can tell hes a skeptic but he obliges anyway, stepping forward, he dips his left finger into the water.

Once hes done he turns to her and they start their trek home. Its gettig dark, it must be late evening and theyve spent the whole day together, walking and talking. Carolines had fun, but now shes starving and shes desperate to get back to the cabin and have a hot shower.

Without warning a thunderous clap roars out from above them and Caroline clings onto Klaus' arm. Shes never liked thunder, even the thought of it scares the shit out of it.

Klaus doesn't seem bothered by her abrupt assault but shes affected by their closeness so she moves away slightly, she still holds tight onto his arm, which feels well trained beneath his coat.

"Afraid of a little thunder?" Klaus asks his eyes alight with amusement, Caroline nudges him in the side, its not her fault she had some awful dreams as a kid, she can still remember them vividly. "If you grip my arm any harder love, I'm almost certain there will be permanent damage.

"Sorry" Caroline releases the hold on his arm a little "Can we hurry up please?" She hears Klaus chuckle and she glares at him. "It is not funny"

"No, I know. I'm sorry" He replies holding in another laugh "But its only thunder Caroline, it can't hurt you"

Just as Klaus finishes speaking, the first drop of rain hits Carolines face and rolls down her cheek. Abruptly, its pouring down, like a faucet has been opened. Theyre soaked through in seconds and she notices, the dirt that was covering Klaus' favw from their fall earluer is almsot completely washed off.

Klaus pulls Carolines hand and drags her to the shelter of a big oak tree. Theyre huddled together, freezing cold and wet. Caroline turns to him, glaring. "You know this is your fault, right?"

"Yes. I'm well aware, because apparently I can control the weather" Klaus says sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"You jinxed us. Its only thunder Caroline" She mimicks him terribly. "Of course when you say that, its not _just_ thunder"

Another loud crash sounds out and Caroline pushes into his lean body "Shit, Klaus. I need to go. I'm going to die out here."

Klaus chuckles again "You're not going to die Caroline. Its a little rain and thunder. I'll get you back to the cabin in one piece" He promises. His definition of a little rain and hers differ completely, as she wipes more raindrops from her face.

Caroline sighs and closes her eyes, counting slowly to ten as she breathes in and out. _You can do this. You can do_ _this._ She repeats the mantra over and over in her head.

When she opens her eyes, Klaus is staring at her and in an instant the air around them changes. The atmosphere is filled with longing and need and it hits her, she really wants to kiss him.

Klaus moves his hands onto her arms and leans in, his eyes seeking permission and where this is the part Caroline would usually run, she realises she doesn't want to.

 _Getting involved with Klaus Mikaelson is a big no no._

She hears the thought in the back of her mind but pushes it aside. She realises then, she doesn't care.

What harm can one kiss do?

His hands are holding the tops of her arms, tentively and gently as he moves in closer. Its the slowest shes ever seen one man move before and before she can think, the rain, the thunder, the trees and the goose pimples all over her body are gone.

Everythings gone.

Its just him and her.

And she closes the distance between them, pushing him up against the bark of the tree as she presses her lips against his.


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so so sorry for the long wait guys, lifes been kind of screwing with me. A lot of personal stuff has been going on and ive been completely physically and emotionally drained. Top and bottom of it is... I'm Pregnant! which I'm thrilled about. Bad news is, I recently broke up with the father and my boyfriend of 4 years. Thankfully, with the help of amazing friends and family, Im finally getting back on my feet.**

 **Anyhooo, back to klaroline, I know I left you with that enticing cliffy last chapter, so I hope this satisfies you all (For now).**

 **Again massive apologies.**

 **Enjoy!**

He can hardly believe it when Carolines lips meet his, Klaus stumbles back against the tree, pulling Caroline along with him. Her lips feel like liquid gold, soft and delicate yet strong and incredibly tempting. For so long now, hes wanted to kiss her and in all honesty he feels slightly imasculated he hadn't plucked up the courage to make the first move himself.

He pulls her closer as her tongue gently glides into his mouth and twirls around, her entire body pressing up against him. Her hands thread into his hair and down his neck and it sends a shiver down his spine. Caroline lets out a little moan as he nibbles her bottom lip, enticing a throaty growl from him. Her moans making him more turned on by the second.

He can feel his erection growing, straining against his pants as she fondles the beaded necklace hes wearing, and he tugs her roughly against his cold body, unable to help himself and wanting to feel every inch of her pressed against him.

She pulls at the small hairs at the nape of his neck as his lips leave hers and travel along her jawline and to her neck. She leans her head back, giving him better access and her hot breath tickles as it flows against his stubble.

They're both panting, kissing, licking and nibbling each other as they grab one another, attempting, and failing to pull the other closer than they already are.

He thinks about the day he met her, it feels like years ago and how he noticed her beauty the second he saw her, of course that was just a physical attraction. He has since met Caroline Forbes, the woman, the pageant queen, the baker, the friend, the gambler, the clean freak and the kind and sweet, sometimes bossy and neurotic woman she is and he wants every single side of her.

He knows he'll regret it, but he needs to take control and stop this thing before things go to far, so with a lot of hesitation, he pulls back ever so slightly.

When Caroline feels him pulling away, she seperates herself from him, looking confused and if hes not mistaken, maybe even a little hurt.

Immediately he jumps to defend himself and ease her worries. "Maybe we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves" He says softly, he doesn't want her to think he doesn't want this... Of course he does, more than anything.

She frowns for a second before another emotion crosses her perfect features as she wipes her top lip with her thumb. Hes sure he sees relief and all of a sudden he knows she wishes it had never happened. "You're right"

His stomach drops and his heart pounds against his ribcage, She regrets it and he instantly hates himself for pulling away. As if sensing his disappointment she quickly continues "Look I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, It was incredible if I'm being honest, but-"

"I like you Caroline" He abruptly cuts her off needing to say what he has to say as soon as possible "More than you're aware. Which is exactly why I don't want to rush into anything with you." He watches as a small smile graces her lips at his words and suddenly feels a little hopeful again. "My life is a mess right now. I wont drag you into that"

Caroline looks at him with understanding and hes grateful shes so understanding and gets where hes coming from. He would never pull Caroline into something that could potentially hurt her. To the world, He was Klaus Mikaelson, he had a wife and a child that he refused to acknowledge or take responsibility for. Only the first part was true of course but the public believed what the press told them to believe.

"I get it." She finally responds. Klaus lifts his hands back to her rosy cheeks as another crash of thunder clackers around them. "I don't want that either, any of it if I'm being honest. I know I act like a drama queen sometimes and can be bossy and demanding but I prefer to stay in the shadows rather than the spotlight"

He grins at her as he leans in to kiss her lips lightly again but she moves back out of his reach. "Maybe we should be heading back, I don't think this weather is going to clear up anytime soon"

Klaus nods but he's feeling very rejected. He attempts to hide his pain with a joke. "Aren't you scared of the thunder? Want to snuggle in again?" He teases offering his arm to her.

Caroline snorts "I think I'll take my chances" A scream escapes her as another crash surrounds her followed by a flash of lightening. "On second thought, Maybe we should run."

She takes off without wating for a reply and Klaus knows she's not just running from the thunder and lightening, She's running from him.

* * *

When Klaus finally makes it back to the cabin, his clothes are soaked through and Caroline is nowhere to be seen. He knows she's avoiding him, Why else would she take off like she did?

He can hear the distant sound of running water and he knows she's taking a shower, he won't push her into anything or force her to talk to him, he'll let her come to him in her own time. He pulls off his black jacket and places it neatly over the arm of the big plush brown leather sofa and begins to work on lighting the log fire.

As he busies himself, He curses himself for stopping what had surely been the best kiss of his existence. He had loved Tatia with everything he had at one point but she had never made him feel the way Caroline did. Within mere seconds of their lips connecting, his stomach flared up as the butterflies fluttered endlessly and his whole body felt like it was on fire. Her touch excited him, even the feel of her delicate fingers trailing gently over his stubble and the nape of his neck sent a very peculiar but amazing feeling to very hard parts of his anatomy. He was astounded by the effect this small town, all American twenty five year old woman had on him.

When the fire finally lights, which didn't take that long, Klaus sends a thank you to the heavens above that his mother had forced him to attend boy scouts when he was younger and sets about looking through the fridge for dinner. He pulls off his T-shirt, its damp and cold and with the fire roaring its bound to heat up soon.

He throws it onto a small pile of laundry near the washing machine and tugs off his pants, replacing them with his beloved Batman lounge pants. As he pulls ingredients from the fridge to make an easy dinner of omelette, and clicks play on Caroline's Ipod she's got hooked up to a speaker system.

He smiles instantaneously as the first song starts, its one of his favourites. Hopefully, Caroline wont take too long in her weird avoidance thing shes got going on because dinner will be ready soon. As he whisks up the eggs he can hear her singing along to the song from the floor above and he reminisces to the time he heard her humming in the kitchen back home.

It was one of the rare occurrences she actually cooked and he had lounged at the kitchen island while she pattered around the kitchen wearing pink boy shorts and a see through top, he wouldn't admit to her that he had a very good view that night though. She had began humming some old 80's pop tune that Klaus hated and then they had proceeded to argue for the next hour about their favourite bands and songs. Klaus was more into classic rock than cheesy pop but he totally got it, it was so Caroline.

He hears the pitter patter of her feet plodding down the staircase and looks up just in time to see her round the corner into the kitchen. She smiles at him, but its small and unsure. "Good song" She states making him smile as her eyes roam over his naked chest, he hadn't done it intentionally but he likes her reaction.

"It is" he agrees. She looks stunning even with soaking wet hair and he longs to touch her again but he keeps his composure and carries on whisking the second batch of omelette mix. "Ham and cheese?"

"Please" She responds sitting at the island. She's doing everything she can not to look at him. "Why don't I open a bottle of wine?" She suggests and he nods as he flips the first omelette. His eyes travel up to meet her as he watches her retrieve a bottle from the fridge and pop the cork out, she pulls to glasses from the cupboard and fills each one. She drinks hers within a few seconds before pouring another one. Klaus is about to comment that getting hammered probably wouldn't be the best idea but then realises if it helps her loosen up a little and talk to him rather than being quiet and awkward then there's no harm in it, so he keeps his mouth shut.

When the omelette is finally done, they both move to the sofas and Klaus cant help but notice how romantic it all feels, they're snuggled up on the sofa, in front of a roaring fire and drinking wine. Caroline is sitting with her feet underneath her as she chomps away on her food, they haven't eaten all day and with all the fresh air and exercise they got, they need their sustenance, especially with the way Caroline's guzzling her wine as if its water.

"I'm sorry" He hears her mumble with a mouth full of found and he's not entirely sure if he heard her right. He glances up at her as she swallows the remainder of her food. "For running away like that" She explains. "I was the one who initiated that kiss and the minute shit got real, I bolted and just left you there"

He doesn't know how to respond so he stays silent for a while as he thinks it over. He totally gets where she's coming from. Getting involved with him could have massive consequences on her life and the backlash she could get could be soul destroying, he's experienced it first hand. The media build you up, only to rip you down a week later. He doesn't want that for Caroline but he wants her, any way he can get her.

"I wanted to kiss you sweetheart, truth be told I've wanted to for a while now so don't make this one sided as if you pushed me into it." He says placing his unfinished dinner on the coffee table in front of them. He scoots closer toward her on the sofa and takes her hand in his, licking his lips before he speaks again. "I know my life isn't the ideal backdrop for a relationship, and I understand you don't want to be a part of that, but I do want you in my life Caroline."

Caroline smiles at him and its a real, genuine smile. "Elena would kill us if she found out about this, as if she needs more work to do" She laughs.

Klaus laughs along with her. Elena would certainly kill him, that's for sure. "Friends, then?" He asks hopeful he hasn't messed things up forever.

"Friends." she agrees pulling him in for a hug. Klaus doesn't hug and for a few seconds he just sits there. "Okay, if you don't start hugging me back, this is going to get really awkward really fast"

Klaus chuckles while placing his hands gently over her lower back and she closes the small gap between them, hugging him tightly.

They both hear the clearing of a throat and as if an invisible force pushes them violently apart, they separate in a millisecond.

Klaus turns toward the strangers standing in the doorway both gaping at the pair. He instinctively moves himself in front of Caroline, ready to protect her if need be, Its silent for a while before one tiny little word leaves Carolines mouth and Klaus feels like running for cover. "Dad!"

* * *

One of the men, instantly moves toward Caroline, a huge smile forming on his face. "Carebear! I'm so happy to see you, You look incredible by the way. And you're dating a movie star, you did good sweetie"

"We're not dating Stephen" She replies rather awkwardly with an eye roll as Stephen hugs her. "What are you both doing here?" She asks looking between both men as her step father grabs her in a bone crushing hug.

"Fuck buddy?" Stephen questions and Caroline blushes profusely.

"Stephen!" Her dad admonishes and she hears Klaus chuckle, she glares at him, a silent warning that this is not the time to find things amusing.

"Sorry" Stephen replies with a shrug, proving to Caroline he's not sorry at all. "Friends with benefits?"

She covers her face, absolutely appalled with her step fathers actions and she can tell by the smirk on Klaus' face he's loving every minute of her humiliation. "What are you doing here?"

Bill steps forward wrapping her in his arms, it feels good. Its been so long since she seen him. "I think the question we should be asking is what are _you_ doing here?"

"And with Klaus Mikaelson, who if you don't mind me saying is much better looking in real life" Stephen grins, his eyes travelling appreciatively over Klaus' lean body and she laughs as she notices his cheeks turning red. It feels good now that the shoes on the other foot. "You two were looking verrrry cosy when we came in"

"We're just friends." She explains hoping they'll leave it at that. "Klaus has been staying with me"

"In your apartment?"

Caroline rolls her eyes again "Yes dad. In my apartment. I do have a spare room you know" She says "Look how about we get settled and I can make us some cocoa, then you can question us as much as you want?"

Stephens eyes light up at the thought and she laughs at his enthusiastic nod. "Bill, take the bags up stairs, I'm getting the Prosecco out" He says obviously dying for the gossip.

As he moves into the kitchen, her dad eyes the pair suspiciously before doing as hes asked. She moves toward Klaus. "Well that's our cover blown" She jokes and Klaus smiles. He hasn't said a word since her father and Stephen made an appearance. "Don't worry, Stephen acts all fairy like and he might question you like you're on a game show but hes harmless"

"I'll take your word for it." He replies looking unconvinced "They wont tell anyone I'm here will they?"

Caroline scoffs as she walks past him. "They're not gossip queens Klaus" She throws over her shoulder as she moves to the Kitchen to join Stephen.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello my lovelies!**

 **Thank you for the reviews, faves and follows after last chapter.**

 **Honestly, this is a little filler chapter, but I felt it was necessary...**

 **There will be one more chapter at the cabin so that will be getting uploaded next week.**

 **On a more personal note, if you read my last authors note, you'll all know that I'm Pregnant! Recently found out, I'm having a little baby girl, Due may 11th! I'm so excited but really struggling to pick a name, so if you have any suggestions, Let me know...**

 **Again, thank you and enjoy!**

As Klaus makes is way upstairs to his bedroom to dress in more appropriate attire, Carolne joins Stephen in the kitchen. He's already got two bottles of prosecco open and four glasses ready on the kitchen island. He plops himself down and looks at her questioningly, obviously waiting for answers to why the hell Klaus freakin Mikaelson is half naked in their holiday home.

Caroline rolls her eyes and lets out a soft sigh, se hadn't prepared for this at all but shes happy that two of the most important men in her life are there. Its literally been forever. "Can you at least wait until Klaus and my dad join us?

Stephen shrugs and pours the prosecco into the glasses, half filling each of them before guzzling back most of his own glass and refilling it. "You know care, if you have a hot and sexy secret boyfriend, your father and I can be trusted"

"I don't have a boyfriend at all, let alone a secret one, can you just give it a rest for two minutes?" She begs in an attempt to shut him up.

"Fine, I get it, I'll keep my mouth shut" He states pushing her glass toward her. "For now at least"

Caroline laughs at her step father, he always has been one for gossip.

Bill makes his way back into the kitchen to re-join the two and smiles as he wraps an arm around Caroline's shoulder. "I've missed you sweetheart" He says tenderly kissing the top of her still damp blonde hair. The nickname reminds her of Klaus and she smiles back at him.

"I missed you too daddy"

"How about I cook us up some of my famous Lasagne and we can all have a good catch up? It's been way too long" Stephen suggests standing from the stool at the counter top.

"Actually Klaus and I already ate. Just an omelette but it was pretty filling" Caroline informs him and Stephen pouts. "But feel free, we brought a lot of food with us and we're going home in the morning"

"So soon?" Her dad asks sounding disappointed he wouldn't have more time with his daughter.

"You should stay an extra day Caroline" Stephen adds "I'm sure Klaus wouldn't mind, would you Mr. Mikaelson?"

Klaus coughs awkwardly as he enters the kitchen, thankfully now with his chest covered up by a plain black t-shirt. His biceps look huge from where she's sitting so she turns away from him as she feels a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks. "It's Klaus" He corrects Stephen "And I'm completely fine with that, if that's what you want Love?"

Caroline smiles at Klaus appreciatively. She really would like to spend more time there. Sure, It's a little awkward now her two dads are there, considering just an hour or so before, she had her tongue down Klaus' throat but she had missed her dad. "I would love that" She beamed.

"Excellent" Stephen claps his hands joyfully, Caroline's almost certain that he's more excited by the fact Klaus is there than her.

"I'll have to call Bonnie and make sure she can manage another day by herself, but I'm sure she'll be okay with it."

"Sure she will, you work hard enough" Bill answers. "Now" He says taking a seat beside Caroline and opposite his husband "Why don't you tell me why you two are here? I was under the impression you weren't dating anyone" He says questioningly, His eyebrows rose toward his daughter.

"They're not dating Bill, They're fuck buddies, I thought we already covered this?"

Caroline blushes profusely. "We're not _... That._ " She babbles embarrassed. "Klaus is my friend"

"Your special friend?"

"Oh my god!"

Klaus steps in, seeing the pain on Caroline's face, luckily saving her. "Caroline's friend Elena is my publicist. I've had a bit of a rough time lately and I needed to disappear. Thankfully and very generously, Caroline took me in to help me out. My relationship with your daughter is strictly platonic, I assure you."

 _Strictly platonic? You weren't saying that an hour ago._ Caroline's quite offended by the way he's described their relationship, even if it is to her father and his overly nosey partner.

They all sit there silently for a few minutes, Klaus glances at her but she turns away. "Well that's our little Caroline, Always helping others" Bill says raising his glass in toast.

"I have to say though I'm a little disappointed, you would be extremely lucky to have her" Stephen says looking toward the movie star. "I would rather not have to listen to you two going at it like rabbits tonight. And since your father and I are here now, and there is no way in hell I'm sleeping on the couch tonight, you two will have to share a bed" He smiled.

Caroline and Klaus' eyes snap up to stare at each other. _Fuck!_

She doesn't even want to think about how awkward that is going to be.

"Aren't you married?" Stephen asks.

"Separated, though it's not public knowledge yet." Klaus says as he takes a drink.

"Isn't your wife a model? Very beautiful, though if I'm honest she could probably do with a steak or two"

"Stephen" Caroline admonishes him but he simply shrugs.

"Let's dial down with the personal questions for a while and you can just tell us how your weekend has been so far?" Bill says changing the subject to a lighter note.

Caroline has to laugh at Stephens antics, he's never really been known for his tact and tends to say whatever is in his head without thinking about it. She's glad Klaus hasn't taken offence or told Stephen to mind his own business.

* * *

"You kissed? How the hell did that happen? I want all the details Caroline!" Bonnie demanded from the other side of the line.

"It just happened" Caroline shrugged even though she knew Bonnie couldn't see her. "We've been out all day, It was thunder and lightening, the rain was pouring down around us and we took shelter under a tree. Before I knew it we were kissing" She wouldn't admit that she was the one to initiate said kiss, because once she got home Bonnie would never let her hear the end of it.

"How was it?"

 _How was it? Amazing. Incredible. Absolutely earth shattering!_

"It was okay" she answered pitifully and she heard Bonnie scoff incredulously.

Luckily after Klaus' insistence that they were just friends, her father and Stephen had accepted it and given up asking about 'them'

Instead Klaus was quizzed like he was doing a Q and A for US Weekly but he took it all in his stride, answering all the questions politely. After a few more glasses of Prosecco and some chocolate fudge cake, Caroline had excused herself to call Bonnie.

"It was okay? You have got to be kidding me Caroline!" She screeches obviously appalled by the lack of information "We're talking you and Klaus here. You've waited long enough. To be honest me and Stefan are quite surprised it hasn't happened already"

Quickly finding a change of subject, Caroline completely ignores Bonnies statement. "How is Stefan?"

"How the hell would I know, he disappeared on me again! Apparently his one time thing, isn't a one time thing" She states "And nice subject change there"

"What one time thing? Who are you talking about?" Caroline asks. "Please don't say he's back with creepy Valerie!"

"Shit I completely forgot to tell you Care" Bonnie cursed peaking Caroline's interest. "The dive bar Stefan left me at, he met a girl. He was with her until yesterday morning and apparently that was the end of it. But some random girl turned up at the bakery today, completely incidental by the way, and it was Stefan's mystery woman" Bonnie informed her "She's hot too, he asked her out to a movie and I haven't seen him since"

"Good on you Stef" Caroline beams. "At least she's not another weirdo"

"Don't give her to much credit just yet. You know Stefan attracts them like flies" Her brunette friend laughs. "Anyway, I should really be going, Enzo has brought Chinese food. I'll talk to you when you get back"

"Okay, thanks again Bon, and have fun with your hot British Sex god" Caroline smirks.

Bonnie chuckles humorously. "I could say the same to you" She replies before hanging up.

Caroline walked straight into that one, so she can't blame Bonnie for taking the chance to humiliate her.

With Klaus still down stairs talking to her dad and Stephen, Caroline begins to get ready for bed. Honestly, she's not too keen on sleeping in the same bed as Klaus, mostly because she doesn't trust herself to be that close to him and not touch him. Things are already complicated enough as it is without anymore near misses.

She searches through her bag for appropriate sleepwear but all she can find are light blue boy shorts and matching camisole or a red nighty that just reaches her thigh, both seem far too revealing to her so she quickly sends a picture of both of her options to Stefan and Bonnie through a group chat they had started months before.

As she internally debates with herself she brushes through her hair and ties into a loose messy bun that sits crookedly on top of her head and brushes her teeth. She hears her phone ping! and thanks god, she still has good service.

 _Blue one_ is all it reads from Bonnie. Caroline looks back at the options lying spread out on the bed, It's a close call, like choosing the lesser of two evils but picks the blue one up and takes it into the bathroom.

When she's changed, she makes her way back to the bedroom and sees Klaus is already there. "Sorry" He apologises as he turns quickly away from her. "Are you decent?"

Caroline glances down at her attire. She's as decent as she's ever gonna be with _those_ options. "Yeah I'm good." She replies timidly and feeling a little shy. She shoves her dressing gown over the top of her nightwear covering herself up some more. "I'm gonna go say goodnight to the parents." She says before leaving again making sure to take her cell with her.

As she leaves the bedroom and pads barefoot sown the stairs she meets Stephen half way. "Bed time?" He asks as she lets out a yawn, she's exhausted from her day trip and can't wait for sleep.

She nods as he kisses her cheek. "I'll see you in the morning Sweetie. Love you"

"Love you too" She replies before continuing down the stairs to see her father.

Her phone pings again and she opens it up and giggles at Stefan's response to her earlier dilemma.

 _Eww Care... You're like my sister! I'm not gonna help you get laid!_

Soon after another message comes through.

 _She's trying to NOT get laid Stefan. You just carry on having fun with your new friend and I'll see you whenever you decide to show your face again. Good luck Care!_

"Caroline" Bill says pulling her attention away from her phone, she quickly locks it and joins her father on the couch, He's sitting, wine in hand just watching the fire as it roars brightly.

Caroline curls up into his side, wrapping her dressing gown closer to her body. She doesn't care how old she s, she's never too old for a cuddle from her daddy "It's so good to see you daddy"

Bill hugs her tightly. "I remember when you were just a girl, the last time your mother and I brought you here"

"It seems like yesterday" She admits. She can remember going to the same well she visited with Klaus, strangely her mom and dad's wishes did come true. "Matt and Elena were with us"

"I remember" Bill reminisces "So how come you ended up doing such a huge favour for Elena then?" Her dad asks. "I know you two haven't spoken for a while"

"About 7 years" She sighs. "You know me dad, if anyone needs help..."

"You're always there" He finishes for her and she laughs. "Just don't be a push over Caroline. I don't want you getting hurt. People can take advantage if you're too kind"

"I'll be fine dad, don't worry about me. I'm a big girl, I'm not girly little Caroline anymore"

Bill pulls her into him with a fond smile. "You most certainly are not" He kisses her temple before shuffling way from her and standing up placing his empty wine glass on the coffee table. "Goodnight Caroline"

He leaves her sitting there with the fire still heating her cool skin. She thinks about everything her dad has said, She could never be a push over. Yes, she's kind and yes, She likes to help people but she knows deep down Elena appreciates it, and in all fairness meeting Klaus Mikaelson hasn't been a complete burden on her life.

If at all.

 **Next chapter: More interaction between Klaus, Caroline, Stephen and Bill. Rebekah makes another appearance at the bakery (Stalker? Or Not?) and Caroline receives an unexpected phone call...**


End file.
